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yt*y 

A REPORT 



PUBLIC DISCUSSION 



J. M. STEPHENSON AND P. T. RUSSELL. 

SUBJECT: 

TflE KINGDOM OP GOD UPON EARTH 



ITS NATURE, LOCALITY, THE TIME OF ITS ESTABLISHMENT, ANl) IT.* 

DURATION, AS TAUGHT BY THE PROPHETS, 

CHRIST ANl) HIS APOSTLES. 



Old Union, Ind., September QStli to October 3d, iSfKS. 

REPOBTKD BY C. W. STAQO, OF INDIANAPOLIS. 



INDIANAPOLIS: 

JOfXKT k BROUSK, FKJNTKKg. 



18&6. 



Ok 



3* 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year of our Lord 18C7, by 

JAMES M. STEPHENSON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for th* 

District of Indiana. 



REPORT 

OF A 

PUBLIC DISCUSSION, 



J. M. STEPHENSOX AND P. T. RUSSELL— HELD AT OLD 
UNIOK IND., SEPTEMBER 25-28, 18C(i. 



question: 

Resolved, That the kingdom of God, spoken of in Dan. ii : 44, was set up on 
the Day of Pentecost, spoken of in Acts, 2d chapter. 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL— FIRST SPEECH. 

First Session, Tuesday Morning, 10 o'clock. 

Gentlemen Moderators, Brethren and Friends: — 

We now approach this important- proposition — the 
query — is, or is not, the " kingdom " spoken of by Daniel 
in the second chapter and forty-fourth verse, of his pro- 
phecy already set up, and has it been set up ever since 
the day of Pentecost? There is more involved ifi this 
question than at first blush may appear. The entire 
ground already passed over is directly involved in this issue, 
for if we prove the affirmative,, viz : that the kingdom 
spoken of in Daniel, 2d chapter, and 44th verse, was set 
up on the day of Pentecost, and consequently that .the 
servants of the Lord under the gospel system are now 
receiving and enjoying it, being thus set up, then we 
know beyond the possibility of a doubt, that they shall 
possess that kingdom "forever and ever." Permit me 



therefore to invite your attention directly to the language 
contained in the chapter and verse named — Daniel 2d 
chapter and 44th verse. It is as follows: "And in the 
days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a 
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the king- 
dom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break 
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall 
stand forever." 

On this declaration of the inspired prophet is based the 
proposition before us. It now devolves upon me to call 
your attention to the leading terms of the proposition. 
And first, we have the term " kingdom " and not only the 
term "kingdom," but the term "kingdom of God," — a 
divine government, unlike anything that had ever gone 
before it — which was at the period spoken of to be set up. 
Not only so, but we have also the term " set up "here, and 
it is the only instance in which that term is found in con- 
nection with the word "kingdom." These words, "set 
up " are identical in meaning with the words " erect " and 
" establish." 

It remains for us in the next place, to read the declara- 
tion contained in the first verse of the second chapter of 
the Acts of the Apostles : " And when the day ot ' P« i - 
tecost was fully come, they were all with one accord it 
one place." Here we have an allusios to the time and 
the occasion upon which our proposition affirms the kin,:: 
dom spoken of in Daniel 2d chapter and 44th verse, to 
have been set up. 

Having thus the terms embraced in the proposition 
clearly before us, let us go to Daniel 7th chapter, 13th and 
14th verses, where we'find the following language : " I saw 
in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man 
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient 
of days, and they brought him near before him.'"' 

" And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a 
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should 
serve him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which 
shall not be destroyed." 



Here we have an allusion to the same kingdom spoken, 
of in Daniel 2d chapter and 44th verse. In the 2d chap- 
ter and 44th verse, it is said of this kingdom that it "shall 
never be destroyed," and in the 14th verse of the 7th 
chapter it is asserted that "his dominion is an everlasting 
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom 
that which shall not be destroyed," thus identifying the 
two places as speaking of one and the same kingdom, 
But in looking again at Daniel 2d chapter and 44th verse, 
we iind that " the kingdom shall not be left (o other peo- 
ple." Bearing this in mind, let us pass and observe the 
assertion found in Daniel 7th chapter and 18th verse J 
" But the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom,, 
and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever," 
which is equivalent to the phrase, "the kingdpm shall not 
be left to other people," found in Daniel, 2d chapter and 
44th verse. 

Having said thus much for the purpose of identifying; 
the two passages as speaking in regard to one and the 
same kingdom, let us next inquire what are the ordinary 
and the essential elements of a kingdom ? and while I ask 
what are the essential elements of a kingdom, I answer 
as follows: first, a king, crowned, clothed with authority; 
second, as a result his issuing laws; third, subjects sub- 
mitting to those laws thus issued. Wherever we have 
these three elements conjoined there we iind a kingdom,, 
and wherever these three elements meet, there we find 
the beginning of a kingdom. To these three points then 
we shall call your attention. But first I desire to bring- 
before your minds some further testimony upon this point. 
Go with me now to Revelations 19th chapter, and let us. 
scan it for one moment, I will read the 11th and 16th, 
verses inclusive. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold 
a white horse ; and he that sat upon him was called faith- 
ful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make 
war." " And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh 
a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF 
LORDS." 

Mark the language contained in the 16th verse : " And 



King of Kings, and Lord of Lords."' Here we have the 
Messiah identified. John says: "I saw heaven opened " 
and then follows a description of a certain glorious being 
whom he saw within that heaven and who is partially 
described in these words : " he was clothed in a vesture 
dipped in blood," and if there was any further description 
of his person it would point directly to that one spoken 
of by Isaiah, as " a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief." And the concluding part of the same verse tells 
us that "his name is called The Word of God." Mark his 
titles — he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name 
written, " King of Kings, and Lord of Lords " — titles that 
can not mean one jot or tittle less than a king supreme 
in himself. This John saw in a vision. He saw him with 
these titles there, and if John told the truth when he said 
he saw him justly wearing these titles, then he is now, 
even at this very hour king of kings, and lord of lords, 
and if he is now thus "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords," 
it is because he is even now on the throne promised him 
— it is because that "kingdom" spoken of in Daniel, 2d 
chapter and 44th verse is already in existence. 

Let me call attention to some further testimony. Go 
with me to Colossians, 1st Chapter, and loth verse, which 
we will read thus: "Who hath delivered you from the 
power of darkness, and hath translated yon into the King- 
dom of his dear Son." I believe I haVe made a mistake 
of one word in reading this verse, using the word "you" 
instead of the word "us." Heading it correctly, we have 
the Apostle Paul, (speaking of the Lord,) saying: "Who 
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hatb 
translated us into the Kingdom of Lis dear Son." I pause 
here for one moment to remark that the same < J reek word 
which is here rendered translated, i the identical word 
used in Hebrews, 11th Chapter, where it is said that Enoch 
was translated. Here they are spoken of as being " deliv- 
ered from the power of darkness, and translated into the 
Kingdom of God's dear Son." Now, they were, that is to 
say, Paul and those included with him in the word "us," 



were either then introduced into the Kingdom of God's 
dear Son, or they were not. If they were not at the time 
Paul penned that sentence, introduced into the Kingdom 
of God's dear Son, then the record is erroneous. If tjjey 
were then introduced into that Kingdom, that Kingdom 
was then in existence, and if it was in existence it was 
u set up." If it was not " set up" it was not in existence ; 
if it. was not in existence it was simply nothing, and if it 
was nothing then the Apostle Paul and all of his brethren 
were entered into nothing according to Colossians, 1st 
Chapter and 13th verse. 

Let us look at one passage more in connection with this 
thought, Go with me to Hebrews, 12th Chapter and 28th 
verse. It reads as follows : " Wherefore, we receiving a 
Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, 
whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence, 
and Godly fear." 

There are several thoughts connected with this expres- 
sion of the Apostle. Look if you please carefully at the 
words, " cannot be moved," and compare this statement of 
the Apostle with Daniel, 2nd Chapter, and 44th verse, 
" shall never be destroyed," and Ave find that the Prophet 
and the Apostle in these two sentences express the same 
though t precisely. But in Hebrews, 12th Chapter and 28th 
verse, the Apostle avers of himself and his brethren, and 
having reference to the same kingdom spoken of in Dan- 
iel, 2nd Chapter and 44th verse, that they were at that 
very time receiving it. Mark the force of the present parti- 
ciple, "we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved." 
Now, they were either receiving it, or they were not; if 
they were, it was in existence ; if they were not, then we 
have here, from the pen of the Apostle Paul, language en- 
tirely unjustifiable and erroneous ; for I am very well 
aware, and so are you, that the idea of the reception by 
any body of a mere nonentity is simply ridiculous. 

Having thus glanced over the foreground of this sub- 
ject, let us pass to Daniel, 2nd Chapter, and notice briefly 
several expressions that are contained therein. The 34th 
and 35th verses of this Chapter read as follows : 



* u Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, 
"which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and 
clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the 
tlay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces 
together, and became like the chaff of the summer thrash- 
ing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place 
was found for them : 'and the stone that smote the image 
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." 

The first thought that I want to fasten here is this: t lie 
stone here spoken of, which became a great mountain and 
filled the whole earth, is the emblem of a kingdom and 
that kingdom spoken of in the 44th verse of the same 
chapter i 

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven 
set tip a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed : and 
the king torn shall not be' left to other people, but it shall 
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and il 
shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the 
stone Avas cut out of the mountain without hands, and that 
it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver 
and the gold; the great God hath made known to t lie 
king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream in 
certain, and the interpretation thereof sure," 

Let us pass to notice the circumstances under which 
Daniel appeared before the king. The king had had a 
very unusual dream, that had so far gone from him that 
he could not apprehend it clearly and distinctly. There 
were those around him who laid claims to super-human 
wisdom and ability. They claimed not only the power of 
looking into the future and foretelling events that were 
yet to come, but they also claimed the power of looking 
into the past, examining its dark scroll and telling to mor- 
tal ear the secret things that had been. They claimed 
also the power of scanning the hidden recesses of the hu- 
man heart, and telling to the world what was passing 
there. The king concludes that now is a good time to 
test the skill of these men. He calls them into his pres- 
ence and tells them what has occurred, and demands of 
them the solution of the problem. They exclaim, " O, 



King-, live forever ! Teli thy servants the dream and we 
will shew the interpretations." The king saj^s to them : 
"If you can tell the interpretations of the dream you can 
also tell the dream itself." They reply to him, " O, King, 
we cannot tell." In anger, he exclaims, " If you do not 
accomplish this, death is the certain doom of everyone of 
you." In deep dsjection they slowly depart. The execu- 
tioner proceeds with the preparations for his deadly work. 
He approaches the quarter where Daniel is. Daniel ap- 
proaches the executioner exclaiming, "Why is the king's 
'•decree so hasty ?" The executioner related the circum- 
stances, and Daniel went to the king and asked that time 
might be given him, promising to reveal the dream and 
the interpretation thereof. Time is granted. "Then was- 
the secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision." See 
Daniel now appearing before the lung in the simple 
majesty of truth and honest conviction. He says : 

"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This 
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood be- 
fore thee ; and the form thereof was terrible. This im- 
age's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of 
silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, 
his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest Jili 
that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote 
the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay^ 
and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, 
the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces to- 
gether, and became like the chaff of the summer thresh- 
ing floors ; and the wind carried them away, that no place., 
was found for them: and the stone that smote the imam 
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth,", 

Daniel says to the King, This is the dream, and now, I 
will tell you what it means. Thou, O, King, art this^head 
of gold ; after thee shall rise another kingdom, inferior to 
thee in splendor as silver is inferior to gold^a thjrd king- 
dom shall supercede that, still more- inferior, less wealthy, 
as brass is less valuable than silver. After tfyat kingdom 
shall have passed away, a fourth kingdom shall arise, em-, 
blematized by the iron. ]Iere r now, we have four king- 



10 

doms, and only four, spoken of in the premises; first, the 
Assyrian, indicated by the head of gold ; second, the 
Medo-Persian ; third, the Grecian, under Alexander the 
Great, which was superceded by that of the Romans, 
under the Caesars. Now, says Daniel, in the 44th verse : 
"In the days of these Kings shall the God of Heaven set 
up a Kingdom." Mark the force of the word "these,' ? 
pointing specifically and pointedly to what is found in 
the premises, and in immediate connection with it, and 
meaning neither more nor less than the Kings last men- 
tioned in the context going before — "In the day* of these 
Kings shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom." If 
the term had been intended to apply to something far off, 
then the term "those" would have been employed in- 
stead of the term "these." "These," as you well know, 
ftlways points to the things more near, and "those" to 
the things that are farther off. 

While thus glancing at the meaning of the term here 
-employed, the term " these," mark, in connection with it, 
the language of the 42d verse : 

"And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part 
of clay, so the kingdoms shall be partly strong and partly 
broken." 

Did I read that verse correctly! 1 I will read it again 
precisely as I read it before : 

"And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part 
of clay, so the kingdoms shall be partly strong and partly 
broken." 

I read it incorrectly, and I did so for the simple pur- 
pose of fastening upon your minds the truth that there is 
but one kingdom here spoken of, the word used being 
" kingdom," singular, and not " kingdoms," plural. Unless 
ten kingdoms can be represented by the singular number, 
and called "kingdom" simply, then Ave cannot, with any 
show of propriety go to a conversation that occurred a 
long time afterwards, recorded in the 7th chapter of 
Daniel, and make this woTd " kingdom. " used in the pas- 
sage before us, refer to the ten kingdoms that arose out 
•of the ruins of the Roman Empire. And while thus we 



11 

have the term "kingdom " used here in the singular num- 
ber, observe also that it is said that they shall not cleave 
together, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And then 
follows the language recorded in the 11th and 15th verses. 
" And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and 
the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but shall 
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it 
shall stand forever." "Forasmuch as thou sawest that the 
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and 
that it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the 
silver, and the gold ; the great God hath made known to 
the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream 
is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." 

The special thought which I wish to fasten here is the 
simple truth that the kingdom here emblematized by a 
stone is said to be cut out of a mountain. A mountain in 
prophetic imagery commonly represents a kingdom. The 
kingdom represented by the stone must therefore have 
been cut of the kingdom represented by the mountain, 
before the mountain was leveled to the plain. Secondly, 
as it was cut out of the old Jewish kingdom, as a natural 
consequence it must have been cut out before the demo- 
lition of that organic, political body, before the Jews had 
ceased to be an embodied people, before their final dis- 
persion by the Roman armies under Vespasian and his 
son Titus. Since that time they have been dispersed 
abroad over the whole face of the earth, and there has 
been nothing about them to fulfil the idea of a kingdom. 
Once they were a mountain, but now they have become 
a plain. As the stone was cut out of the mountain it 
must have been taken out during the period of their ac- 
actual national existence, and before their dispersion. 

In connection with these thoughts I call your attention 
to Micah, 1th chapter. Examine the language contained 
in the first verse : " But in the last days it shall come to 
pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be 
established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be 
exalted above the hills ; and people shall flow unto it." 



12 

Here the same kingdom is represented by the idea of a. 
mountain, " the mountain of the Lord's house," and it is 
said to be set up and established in the top of the moun- 
tain, "in the last days." Last days of what? Thai is 
the important point here to be decided? In answer to 
this important inquiry turn now to the preceding chapter, 
the third chapter of Micah and read the language therein 
contained, commencing at the 9th verse and including the 
remainder of the chapter. 

"Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob^ 
and princes of the house of Israel, and abhor judgment, 
and pervert all equity." "They build up Zion with blood, 
and Jerusalem with iniquity." "The heads thereof judge 
for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the 
prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean 
upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us ? none 
evil can come upon us." "Therefore shall Zion, for your 
sake be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become 
heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places, 
of the forest." 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON— FIRST SPEECH. 

I appear before you in order to investigate this impor- 
tant issue — an issue not only between my opponent and 
myself, but also between us as a people and all other pro- 
fessed churches of God in the world, in some essential 
feature. But while this is the case, there is at the same 
time one point at issue between t lie church of my oppo- 
nent and that to which I belong, almost exclusively, it is 
the position that the " kingdom is the church " that was 
set up on the day of Pentecost. The church to which he 
belongs is the only one in Christendom which occupies 
the position that the kingdom of God, spoken of in the 
passage of scripture named in the proposition before us, 
was set up on the day of Pentecost. He and his church 
stand alone upon this point. In the statement that was 



13 

made by my opponent, that the question at issue between 
us was in effect, whether the kingdom of God spoken of 
in the 44th verse of the 2d chapter of Daniel." is or is not " 
now set up, he did not state the issue as it really is. That 
is noi the issue between us. The issue is — was the king- 
dom of God spoken of in Daniel, 2d chapter and 44th 
verse, set up on the day of Pentecost. And if therefore 
it can be shown that that kingdom was set up either pre- 
viously or subsequently to the day of Pentecost, it is evi- 
dent to every mind that my opponent loses the question 
at issue between us. I propose in this investigation to 
follow the example of my opponent in the investigation 
of the former question, and to prove the negative of this 
question antecedently — we both have the affirmative in 
this case. He affirms that the kingdom alluded to in 
Daniel 2d chapter and 44th verse, was set up on the day 
of Pentecost — we on the other hand affirm that this event 
is yet future. From that point forward, from the establish- 
ment of the kingdom on, I think we shall not differ from 
each other, but shall agree that the kingdom, whenever 
set up, shall endure forever. 

I propose in the first place to investigate the harmoni- 
ous teachings of the word of God in reference to the na- 
ture of the Kingdom of God, the time when the Kingdom 
of God will be established, and all the essential elements 
of the Kingdom as revealed in the word of God, and prove 
to you and to all who shall read this discussion, that the 
establishment of the Kingdom of God is a future event; 
and that the view held by us as a people, in regard to the 
time when that Kingdom shall be set up is the only one 
that will harmonize the Holy Scriptures — that the whole 
Bible, from Genesis to Revelations, harmonize perfectly 
and entirely with our view of the subject, and that all the 
proofs that are produced, or sought to be produced by my 
opponent, are only so many objections to the harmonious 
teachings of the word of God. I shall treat them just as. I 
would treat objections urged by an infidel, or by any other 
class of men, to the plain and harmonious teachings of 
divine inspiration. One word just here in reference to 



14 

tbe rules by which we are governed in the investigation 
of the word of God. We do not investigate or construe 
the word of God by isolated texts. We investigate by 
subjects. We do not suspend our faith upon a few pas- 
sages of Scripture, wrested from their proper and legiti- 
mate relation with the context, but upon the harmonious 
teachings of the entire word of God. We will advocate 
ho view, we will subscribe to no doctrine, we will acknowl- 
edge ho sentiment upon which we cannot harmonize the 
teachings of the whole Bible. If I cannot harmonize our 
views with the word of God, it will clearly prove one of 
two things — either that we have not the truth upon our 
side, or that I have not the intellectual ability to make 
that truth appear. 

I wish to state to you here in the outset what are the 
essential elements of every kingdom that has been set 
up on this globe of ours, from the time when Nimrod, 
the mighty hunter, set up his kingdom, down to the 
present time, viz : — first, a king ,' secondly, subjects ', 
thirdly, associate rulers with the king. No king or poten- 
tate has ever ruled the world alone. All the monarchs of 
the earth have their Cabinets, their associates in authority 
who share with them the responsibility and the royalty of 
the kingdom. And if, in the Kingdom of God that is to 
come, we are not to have associated with the ruling Mon- 
arch of that Kingdom, a royal Cabinet, it will be an ex- 
ception to the general rule. But I was going on to state 
that in the fourth place there must be a territory. Every 
kingdom on the face of the earth possesses its territory. 
A kingdom is an organic body, and can no more exist 
without a territory than any super-structure without a 
foundation. The Kingdom of God therefore must have a 
locality and a territory. In the fifth place it must have a 
capital. All other kingdoms have had their capitals, their 
great political centres from which have radiated laws for 
the government of the kingdom or empire. The Kingdom 
of God must likewise have its capital, or be an exception. 
In the sixth place it must have laws to bind the extremi- 
ties of the Kingdom to the centre ; otherwise it would not 



15 

he an organic body. There is no necessity to make the 
Kingdom of God an exception to all other kingdoms with 
reference to any of these six essential elements, and if I 
can demonstrate, by the harmonious teachings of the word 
of God, that the Kingdom here promised to be set up by 
the God of Heaven and given to Jesus Christ, is the only 
Kingdom that God has ever promised to His Son, or which 
He ever will establish permanently and forever on the 
earth, then that Kingdom will, in common with all other 
kingdoms, possess these six essential elements ; and if I 
can prove this, my opponent can show no necessity for 
spiritualizing any of these elements. And if we can show 
the literal fulfillment of all the promises made in the word 
of God concerning Christ's Kingdom, no man has any 
right to place a spiritual construction upon any of them. 
If we can trace an analogy between the Kingdom of God 
and all other kingdoms, then my opponent can make no 
show of consistency in refusing to understand the word of 
God according to its literal import, and for interpreting the 
Kingdom of God, here spoken of, as not having promised 
these six fundamental and essential elements of a kingdom. 

My first postulate, in entering upon this subject, is : 
that it was God's original purpose, when he made man, to 
constitute him, on condition of obedience, his vicegerent, 
to administer his government on the earth forever and 
ever. Go back with me now, and let us investigate the 
great charter, the original charter of all legal rights and 
of all authority which man can exercise upon this earth. 
It is found in Genesis, 1st Chapter and 26th verse. 

" And God said, Let us make man in our image, after 
our likeness ; and let them have dominion over the fish of 
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, 
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that 
creepeth upon the earth." 

The dominion of the whole earth was the kingdom that 
the great God promised to Adam, and in proof that this 
proffered dominion was identical with the Kingdom prom- 
ised to Jesus Christ by all the prophets that ever wrote 



16 

under the influence of divine inspiration. See Matthew, 
25th Chapter, commencing at the 31st verse: 

" When the Son ot man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne 
of his glory : and before him shall be gathered all nations : 
and he shall separate them one from another, as a shep- 
herd divideth his sheep from the goats : and he shall set 
the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand. 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
pared for you from the foundation of the world." 

Go back with me to the time when the foundations of 
the earth were laid, when "the morning stars sang to- 
gether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," and learn 
what kingdom was then and there prepared for man. In 
the 1st Chapter of Genesis and the 26th verse we find this 
language : " Let us make man, and let them have domin- 
ion over all the earth," 

In the nest place, that this dominion spoken of here 
was designed to be perpetual in case of obedience, is evi- 
dent from the fact that God declared that in case of dis- 
obedience they should surely die. Look at the following 
language used by the Divine Being after Adam's crimi- 
nality, and after his sentence was passed upon him by his 
Creator. God says of the guilty criminal : t; Behold, the 
man is become as one of us, to know good and evil : and 
now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree 
of life, and eat and live for ever: therefore, the Lord God 
sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground 
from whence he was taken." Genesis, 3d Chapter, 22d 
and 23d verses. We see at once from this that God in 
His original plan, offered Adam, in connection with the 
promised throne of universal empire, the everlasting pos- 
session of the earth. All this was promised to Adam on 
condition of obedience. By his disobedience he forfeited 
that right, 

The second Adam came. To him was offered the end- 
less kingdom of God, upon precisely the same terms ou 



17 

which it had been offered to the first Adam — Christ came 
"to seek and to save that which was lost." Did the 
second Adam comply with the conditions on which the 
endless dominion of earth was promised ? He did. " All 
my father's commandments " said Christ, " I have kept." 
He invites the blessed of his Father to come and share 
with him " the kingdom prepared for them from the foun- 
dation of the world." It was the kingdom prepared and 
designed for man, when the foundations of the earth were 
laid. The first Adam having proved disobedient and re- 
creant to his trust, the second Adam came, and to him 
was promised the same kingdom which the first Adam 
had forfeited through disobedience, and upon the same 
terms. The second Adam fulfilled all the conditions of 
the grant and to him is promised the same everlasting 
kingdom and dominion that was originally promised to 
the first Adam. 

Again we find the Almighty after the flood had swept 
the earth with the besom of destruction, revealing his 
purposes in regard to his government upon the earth. 
Turn to the 17th chapter of Genesis and we there find 
God making a covenant with his servant Abraham which 
he calls "an everlasting covenant." What is the import 
of the promise there made by Jehovah to Abraham ? Does 
he not say ? " I will give to thee and to thy seed an ever- 
lasting possession in the land of Canaan." He names the 
land — "all the land of Canaan." See Gen. xvii: 1 — 8 
'' And when Abrain was ninety years old and nine, the 
Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the 
Almighty God ; walk before me and be thou perfect." 
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, 
and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell 
on his face; and God talked with him saying. As for 
me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be 
a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any 
more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham ; 
for a father of many nations have I made thee. And 1 
will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations 
of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will 

2 



18 

establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed 
after thee in their generations, for an everlasting cove- 
nant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. 
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the 
land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan 
for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.'' 

In the 22d chapter of Genesis, and at the 17th and 18th 
verses, we find God making another promise to Abraham 
in these words: "That in blessing I will bless thee, and 
in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of 
heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore ; and 
thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies : And 
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be M 
because thou hast obeyed my voice." 

Observe here that the possessive pronoun "his"" is 
used in the singular number, and cannot correctly repre- 
sent a multitude as numerous as the " stars of heaven" 
and the " sands upon the sea shore." 

By referring to the 12th chapter of Genesis we find the 
same promise made to Abraham ; " In thee shall all the 
families of the earth be blessed." In the 26th chapter of 
Genesis we find the same promise recapitulated to Isaa<c 
— that in him and in his seed should all the nations of the 
earth be blessed, and that the Almighty would give the 
land to the seed of Abraham for an everlasting posses- 
sion. 

Turn now to the 12th and 14th verses inclusive of the 
28th chapter of Genesis. I will read it verbatim; Jacob 
is here upon his journey into a foreign country, living 
from the anger and power of his elder brother, Esau. 
Lying on the cold earth, with a stone for his pillow, and 
the starry heavens for a canopy above him, he is dream- 
ing a strange dream. He sees in the visions of the night 
a ladder reaching from heaven to earth. It presented the 
means of a possible passage between the two worlds, for 
angels were ascending and descending upon it. " And 
behold the Lord God," &c. "And he dreamed, and be- 
hold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it 
reached to heaven ; and behold the angels of God ascend- 



19 

ing and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood 
above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy 
father, and the God of Isaac ; the land whereon thou liest, 
to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed 
shall be as the dust of the earth ; and thou shalt spread 
abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and 
to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the 
families of the earth be blessed." 

Observe this language with care. What does the Lord 
God, standing*at the top of this miraculous ladder say to 
Jacob? Does he say: "Jacob, come up here, for all 
heaven will I give to thee and thy seed forever?" No 
such language does he use. On the contrary he, says, 
"Jacob, the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give 
it and to thy seed." Hence we see that it was God's pur- 
pose to give them the land of Canaan for an everlasting 
possession, as a centre from which should radiate laws for 
the government of the world to all eternity. This land 
was in the first place, to be given them. Secondly 
the area of the whole earth, the government of the entire 
earth was to be given them, as involved in the promise 
made to Abraham. "In thee and in thy seed shall all the 
nations of the earth be blessed." Now who were asst«>- 
ciated with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in this immutable 
title to the dominion of the whole earth, backed up by 
the oath of Almighty God? I will now introduce to 
you our brother in Christ Jesus, the great Paul, a man of 
transcendent ability and taught at the feet of Gamaliel, 
the greatest lawyer of the age in which he lived. Hear 
him-— hear Paul's immutable testimony to the important 
truth before us. What does Paul say ? We have his tes- 
timony in the 3d chapter of Galatians, at the 16th verse-.. 
u Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. 
He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, 
and to thy seed, which is Christ.". To Abraham an,cl ',to 
Christ, then, these glorious promises were made. The last 
verse of the same chapter tells us, "And if ye be Christ's 
then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to' the 
promise." • " '' 



20 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL-SECOND SPEECH. 

I desire to commence where I concluded — to finish the 
argument I had begun when my time expired — and after 
that to review the argument that you have just listened 
to. I will call your attention once more to the third 
chapter of Micah — I will commence reading at the ninth 
verse.: 

"Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, 
and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment 
and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with bloo$, 
and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge 
for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the 
prophets thereof divine for money : yet will they lean 
upon the Lord, and say, is not the Lord among us? none 
evil can come upon us. Therefore, shall Zion for your 
sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become 
heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high place? 
of the forest. But in the last days it shall come to pass. 
that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be 
established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be 
exalted above the hills; and the people shall flow unto 
it." 

I have read this language for the simple purpose of 
fastening upon your minds the time indicated in the 
words, "last days." I had sprung the question, "Last 
days" of what? Look at the context. Here I shuold re- 
mind you that the division of the Scriptures into chap- 
ters and verses, is a matter of modern origin, and formed 
no part whatever of the divine arrangement. And here 
we find the prophet Micah, in the fore part of the fourth 
chapter of his prophecies which Ave have read in your 
hearing, predicting certain matters that transpired as a 
result from the overthrow and destruction of the city of Je- 
rusalem, and of her temple, which overthrow was described 
in the last concluding portion of the chapter going before. 
When the city of Jerusalem was overthrown the temple 



21 

was prostrated ; the very foundations thereof were over- 
turned, the Roman plowshares making furrows on the 
ground where it had stood, thus indicating the fact that 
it should never again be built. Hence the language 
found in the last verse of the third chapter — " Zion shall 
be plowed as a field." Then immediately following, in 
the first verses of the fourth chapter, we have certain 
events named which were to transpire "in the last days." 
The idea evidently is, that in the last days of Jerusalem,, 
a short time before the demolition of the temple and the: 
dispersion of the Jews among all nations, "the mountain 
of the Lord's house " should be " established in the top of 
the mountains." This language you will at once observe 
is in perfect accord with that of Daniel, 2d chapter, 4th 
verse, "in the days of these kings." We. shall see, by 
and by, that it was in the days of the Roman Cesars that 
the God of Heaven should set up the Kingdom spoken of 
in the language before us. 

Here let us pause and examine one statement made by 
my friend here. He stated that upon the one single 
point of the unity of God's Kingdom he was willing to 
suspend the entire issue between us. It is a matter of 
curiosity with me to see how he can make the Kingdom 
of God to be " set up " in "the last days," or "in the days 
of these kings," long after time had been rolling its 
ceaseless changes round, and yet, at the same time assert 
that the kingdom, the same kingdom (there being only 
one,) was established "when the morning stars sang to- 
gether." You were told that the second Adam took the 
place in God's design which had been forfeited by the 
first. The first Adam had dominion over all the brute 
creation. That was his dominion, and now, therefore, if 
the second Adam takes the place the first occupied, then 
will he, the Lord Jesus Christ, have dominion over the 
brutes ; and if so, then, as a natural consequence, man- 
kind are not now, and never will be, under any obliga- 
tions to obey and serve him. The Psalmist says, "Thou 
madest him to have dominion over the fowls of the air, and 
over the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through 



22 

the paths of the sea." Here is David's understanding of 
the nature of the dominion given to the first Adam. If, 
therefore, my friend has told you the truth when he said 
that the second Adam took the place of the first, then the 
dominion -of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot go beyond the 
limits of Adam's dominion, and therefore is coniined to 
the brutes, and has nothing to do with you or with me. 

I now desire to call your minds back to the argument 
upon which I had entered when my time expired. Let 
us return and look at the prophecies and their fullillment 
for the purpose of marking the time of the coronation of 
the King. Go with me first to 2d Samuel, 7th chapter, 
12th and 17th verses inclusive. 

u And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep 
with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which 
shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his 
kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will 
establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be 
his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, 
I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the 
stripes of the children of men: but my mercy shall not 
depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put 
away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom 
shall be established forever before thee : thy fchrone shall 
be established forever. According to all these words, 
and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto 
David." 

Mark one matter : here is a promise that that throne 
called "'the throne of David" should be established for- 
ever; it should not pass away; and not only this, but 
that his descendants should forever reign as kings. 

Go now witli me to Jeremiah, 23d chapter, and let us 
read the 5th and 6th verses. 

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall 
reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and just- 
ice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and 
Israel shall dwell safely: and this is the name whereby 
he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness." 



23 

Remember, if you please, the name of the King here 
spoken of. He is to be called The Lord Our Righteous- 
ness. He is called, also, a Righteous Branch, and the 
Kind who should reign and prosper. 

Go with me now to Jeremiah, 33d chapter and 15th 
^Qr'se, and, or including the 18th. 

" Li those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch 
of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall ex- 
ecute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those 
(lays shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell 
safely: and this is the name wherewith he shall be called, 
The Lord our righteousness. For thus saith the Lord; 
David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of 
the house of Israel; neither shall the priests the Levites, 
want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kin- 
dle meat offerings, and to do sacriiice continually." 

Again, at the 19th verse we are told "The word of the 
Lord came," &c. 

"And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 
Thus saith the Lord ; If ye can break my covenant of 
the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there 
should not be day and night in their season; then may 
also my covenant be broken with David, my servant, that 
he should not have a son to reign upon his throne ; and 
with the Levites, the priests, my ministers." 

Again, at the 25th verse of this same chapter, and on 
to the end, we are told: "Thus saith the Lord; If my 
covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not 
apointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; then will I 
cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so 
that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the 
seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob : for I will cause their 
captivity to return, and have mercy on them." 

Here are presented two or three thoughts which I wish 
to examine with care. In the first place, in the 20th and 
21st verses, the Lord declares : 

'"Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of 
the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there 
should not be day and night in their season; then may 



24 

also my covenant be broken with David, my servant, that 
he should not have a son to reign upon his throne ; and 
with the Levites, the priests, my ministers."^ 

Let us ask the question just here, has there ever a 
period of time passed, from the days of Jeremiah down 
to the present time, when there was not day and night? 
and while 1 ask that question, mark the manner in which 
it is emphatically repeated in the. 25th and 26th verses: 

"Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day 
and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of 
heaven and earth; then will I cast away the seed of 
Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any 
of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob : for I will cause their captivity to return, and 
have mercy on them." 

Pause for a moment and examine the matter before us. 
We have here confirmed in the most positive manner pos- 
sible, the thought that David should never want a man to 
sit on the throne of his kingdom. The illustration here 
used to impress this thought is borrowed from the very 
laws that control the physical world around us — that gov- 
ern the earth on which we live. We are told that David 
shall never want a man to sit on his throne so long as 
those immutable laws of nature hold their sway. It so 
happens, however, that we find, that the last of the lineal 
descendants of king David was found upon the Hebrew 
throne at Jerusalem when our Savior was upon earth; 
and hence, if the Messiah himself has not been upon the 
throne from the time when he ascended up into heaven 
to this very hour, then there has been <this long interim 
in which there was no one on the throne of David. 

Go with me now to Zechariah 6th chapter, 12th and 13th 
verses : 

"And speak unto him, saying, Tims speaketh the Lord 
of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The 
Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he 
shall build the temple of the Lord : Even he shall build 
the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and 
shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and he shall be a priest 



25 

upon lils throne : and the counsel of peace shall be be- 
tween them both." 

One thought which I wish to fasten just here is this: 
The Messiah, who is indisputably the being here spoken 
of, is to be "a priest upon his throne." He must either 
be a priest now or not. If he is not now a priest, then 
there is now no high priest — and if there is now no high 
priest before the Lord, then there is now no possible me- 
dium through which man can find access to the throne of 
God and the black wings of everlasting despair are brood- 
ing over all creation. He is to be a priest on Ms throne. 
Mark that the text does not say on and off his throne — 
but it says on his throne. It does not say either, that he 
shall be a« priest on the throne of another, but on Ms 
throne — his own throne. If he is now on his throne, then, 
as a natural consequence, as none but kings are on their 
thrones, he is' now king : and if he is now king — he is now 
king and priest, and if king and priest then is he king and 
priest forever, after the order of Melchisedec. Mark the 
manner in which they are conjoined together. I repeat 
the declaration, that just so sure as he is a priest now, just 
so sure is he a king now, and there is not a hint from the 
first word in Genesis to the last amen in Revelations, con- 
cerning his being a priest anj^where but " on his throne." 

We pause here one moment to call your attention to 
Zechariah 9th chapter and 9th verse : 

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daugh- 
ter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee: 
he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon 
an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." 

Mark the force of the word "cometh" — He comes — He 
is approaching. Look now at John's Gospel, 12th chapter, 
12th, 13th, 141 h and 15th verses. You will there find that 
when the Savior was riding in triumph to Jerusalem, the 
multitude were crying, " Hosannah to the Son of David." 
This prophecy, found in Zechariah, was then fulfilled. 
The King was coming unto Jerusalem, "just and having 
salvation, lowly and, riding upon an ass." But he could 
not be a priest upon his throne upon this earth, and there- 



26 

fore it was necessary that lie should pass away from earth. 
Go with me now to the Acts of the Apostles, 1st chapter, 
.and 9th verse : "• And when he had spoken these things 
while they beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received 
him out of their sight." In connection with this thought, 
turn your attention to Acts, 2d cdiapter, 29th and 36th 
verses, inclusive: 

"Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the 
patriarch David that he is both dead and buried, and his 
sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a 
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to 
him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the tlesh, 
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He, seeing 
this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his 
soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corrup- 
tion. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are 
witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God ex- 
alted, and having received of the Father the promise of 
the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see 
and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: 
but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou 
on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy Footstool. 
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that 
God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, 
both Lord and Christ." 

Let us pause here for one moment. We find here a 
quotation from the 110th Psalm and 1st verse, where the 
Father is represented as saying to the Son, "Sit thou on 
my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool." This 
is spoken of by the voice of revelation as taking place 
when the Son of the Highest ascended on high. This 
same passage is quoted six or seven times in the New 
Testament writings. Here, at the right hand of the Father 
the Son was to sit until his enemies were all subdued and 
put under his feet. But Paul, in his first letter to the 
Corinthians, 15th chapter and 26th verse, demonstrates 
that one of those enemies is Death. In the 25th verse of 
the same chapter we learn that he must "reign until ho 
hath put all things under his feet. 11 "The last enemy that 



shall be destroyed is Death." !\ow, Death cannot he de- 
stroyed until all ruling power is taken from him. All 
ruling power cannot be taken from him while he has con- 
trol over one solitary human being. Consequently, the 
Son is to remain at his Father's right hand till the very 
last human being shall be brought out of Death's domin- 
ions. This being so, what becomes of the thought of his 
coming down to this earth and setting up an earthly 
throne, and reigning here a thousand years? You and 1 
know very well that all ruling power cannot be taken 
from Death until the last human being is brought out 
from under Death's dominion. As long as one solitary 
human being remains subject to Death, Death will still 
possess ruling power, and as Death cannot be put under 
his feet until all ruling power is taken from Death, the 
Son must remain at the Father's right hand until after 
the filial resurrection and the final consummation of all 
things. 

We are now prepared to look upon the coronation 
scene of the king. You recollect thatin the .'.:: 1 chapter 
of the Acts of the Apostles Ave are told that he ascended 
into heaven and a cloud received him out of their sight. 
The Psalmist in the 2-ith Psalm gives us a description of 
the coronation scenes. As the king with his angelic es- 
cort approaches the gates of the city the cry is heard, 
"Lift up your heads, ye gates, and be ye lift up ye 
everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in." 
The demand from within the portals is heard. "Who is 
this King of Glory?" The response to this demand from 
the approaching host is, "The Lord strong and mighty ; 
the Lord mighty in battle." The allusion here is to his 
recent victory over death. Once more the demand is 
made, "Lift up your heads, ye gates and the king of 
glory shall come in !" The gates fly open wide and the 
Son passes into the city through the portals of eternal 
day. 

Go now to Daniel 7th chapter, 13th and 14th verses. 
W<, I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son 
of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 



28 

Ancient of days, and they brought him near before hirn. 
And there was .given him dominion, and glory and a 
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should 
serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, that which 
shall not be destroyed." 

The escort brought the Son near, before the throne of 
the Father, and then, at that time there was given unto 
him "dominion and glory and a kingdom," and so on. 
Here Daniel beholds the glories of the coronation scene. 
John the Revelator speaks of the Son as being crowned. 
Then Daniel, standing on the other side, before the coro- 
nation, sees him in prophetic vision brought near to the 
ancient of days, who is on the eternal throne, and there 
beholds him crowned and invested with dominion and 
glory and a kingdom. Just so, John the Revelator, stand- 
ing upon this side of the coronation, and looking back- 
ward at the same scene says : "And I saw heaven opened, 
and behold a white horse ; and he that sat upon him was 
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth 
judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, 
and on his head were many crowns ; and he had a name 
written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he 
was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood ; and his name 
is called The Word of God. And 'the armies which 
were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed 
in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth 
goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the 
nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ; and 
he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of 
Almighty God. [And he hath on his vesture, and on 
his thigh a name was written. King of Kings, and Lord 
of Lords." 

Here John speaks of the same personage described by 
Daniel. He wears a vesture dipped in blood and upon 
his vesture and upon his thigh there is a name written 
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. In heaven the Son 
of God wears this title. That is where Daniel saw him, 
and where John saw him. In our next we shall be pre- 



&9 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON— SECOND SPEECH. 

I call your attention to one of the objections made by 
my opponent to the position I took in my first speech. J 
am represented as taking the position that Adam lost the 
dominion in the sense of having actually possessed it. 
The position I took is that he was offered that dominion 
upon certain conditions; that he failed to comply with 
those conditions, and therefore failed to receive the 
dominion which he would have had in case of obedience; 
and that in this sense, not in the other, he lost it, The 
second Adam complied with the conditions, and he will 
yet receive the dominion, at his second advent, when he 
sits on the throne of his glory. This is my position cor- 
rectly stated. 

What would have been the duration of Adam's proba- 
tion had he been obedient to the law of God, is not 
named in the Holy Scriptures. For my opponent to 
affirm that he would have entered upon the reward imme- 
diately is to beg the whole question. Where Revelation 
is silent it is not the right of any man to say what GodV 
purposes were, or to pretend to reveal the secret coun- 
sels of the Most High. 

I* call your attention to the subject before us, just where 
I left it, I had just affirmed that the covenant God made 
with Abraham, He also promised to make with Abraham 
and Christ, and all that were Christ's. Turn now to 
Romans, 4th chapter, and 13th verse. "For the promise, 
that he should' be the heir of the world, was not to Abra- 
ham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the 
righteousness of faith." 

Here you find a promise made to Abraham and to his 
seed. I have proved already that the seed referred to 
here was Christ himself and also all who are Christ's. 
They are to be the world's possessor's when heirship shall 
have been merged into possession. 

Again, God selected David from among his brethren, 
and allied him with a kingdom on earth which he denom- 



30 

in'ated his kingdom, and which when restored will be 
his everlasting kingdom-^one kingdom and not two 
separate and distinct kingdoms. A kingdom restored is 
the same kingdom after the restoration that it was before. 
If the kingdom of Great Britain should be overthrown 
and afterward restored, it would be the kingdom of Great 
Britain still as truly as though it had never been sub- 
verted. Just so, Avhen the kingdom shall be restored to 
the house of David, and when Christ shall sit upon his 
throne, that kingdom will be as truly the kingdom of 
David, and his throne, as truly David's throne, as though 
there had never been an interregnum in the kingly line- 
The fact that* for the time being there is no one upon 
David's throne, does not prove that God has two king- 
doms or ever will have two kingdoms upon earth. I wish 
now to investigate the relation of King David to the 
throne, as God's representative. That the throne of David 
and the kingdom over which he reigned, were the throne 
and kingdom of God" will be amply proven and demon- 
strated in the further development of this subject, And 
that God has promised and pledged his word to perpet- 
uate David's kingdom through "David's Son" and the 
" Son of God," I will proceed to prove. 

Before I proceed further, however, I wish to call your 
attention to two essential elements of a kingdom — tirst a 
kingdom must have a king and subjects, ana that in this 
respect the kingdom of God will not be an exception to 
other kingdoms. I shall prove to you that Jesus Christ, 
the son of David and the Son of God, will be the king 
who shall reign over the kingdom of God forever and 
ever, and that the twelve tribes of Israel will be the 
subjects over whom he shall reign. My first proof is 
drawn from 2d Samuel, 7th chapter, commencing at the 
V1\A\ verse. 

" And when thy days- be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep 
with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which 
shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his 
kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I 
will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I 



31 

will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit 
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with 
the stripes of the children of men. But my mercy 
shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, 
whom I put away before thee. And thy house and 
thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee ; 
thy throne shall be established forever. According to 
all these words, and according to all this vision, so did 
Nathan speak unto David. Then went king David in, 
and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord 
God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me 
hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, 

Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's 
house for a great while to come. And is this the manner 
of man, O Lord God ?" 

You will find the same promise and covenant alluded 
to in 1 Chronicles, 17th chapter, from the 11th to the 15th 
verses inclusive. Ci And it shall come to pass, when thy 
days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, 
that I will raise up thy seed after thee, Which shall be of 
thy sons ; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall 
build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 

1 will be his father, and he shall be my son : and I will 
not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from Jiim 
that was before thee. But I will settle him in mine 
house and in my kingdom forever; and his throne shall 
be established for evermore. According to all these 
Avords, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan 
speak unto David." 

I wish to call your attention to the fact, that the son of 
David spoken of in the 7th chapter of 2d Samuel, who 
should build a house for the name of the Lord, and the 
throne of whose kingdom should be established forever 
and ever is Chkist himself. It is urged that this promise 
relates to Solomon, from the fact it is promised that this 
son of David is to build the house of the Lord. Solomon 
built, the house of the Lord, and therefore it is claimed' 
that it was in him that this promise was to be fulfilled. I 
would observe in the first place that all the promises of 



God in relation to this personage, here spoken of must 
centre in some one person. It is not enough for some of 
the promises to centre in one individual while others do 
not. All must point to one person and meet their fulfill- 
ment in him. The word of the Lord must stand forever. 
Inspiration never yet made a mistake — hence the person 
through whom the kingdom shall be established forever 
must be one in whom everypromise made by God through 
the prophet to David shall find its complete fulfillment 
Turn to the 2d chapter of 1st Kings and read from the 1st 
to the 4th verse inclusive. Listen to the dying charge of 
David to his son Solomon : 

"Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die ; 
and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of 
all the earth : be thou strong therefore, and show thyself 
a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk 
in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, 
and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in 
the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all tha 
thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 
that the Lord may continue his word which he spake con- 
cerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their 
way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and 
with all their soul, there s 
on the throne of Israel." 

Turn now to the 132d Psalm, and you will there find a 
conditional promise made to David's seed. You can not 
fail to notice that the promise contained in the 7th chap. 
of 2d Sam., has no conditions annexed to it. There God 
says he will establish the throne of David forever and 
ever. There is no condition, nor contingency named in 
this prophecy upon which the fulfillment of this prom- 
ise can possibly be forfeited. Here we see the two sons 
of David, Solomon and Christ, placed in strong and direct 
contrast with each other. So far as Christ is concerned, 
there is no condition whatever connected with the prom- 
ise, but so far as Solomon and his successors were con- 
cerned, there were conditions specified, upon which their 
throne and dominion should be perpetuated. Let me read 



33 

the Language contained in the 132d Psalm, 11th and 12th 
verses. I believe the Holy Spirit understands the use of 
language, and can use words which will most clearly and 
correctly represent to our minds the Spirit's ideas. 

"The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not 
turn from it; of the fruit of thy body will I set Upon thy 
throne. If thy children will keep my covenant and my 
testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall 
also sit upon thy throne for evermore." , 

I will now prove to you that the first successors of 
David failed to comply with the conditions annexed to 
the promise, and forfeited the promised privilege. Listen 
to the language of the inspired historian, recorded in the 
1 Kings, 11th chapter, 6th to the 11th verses inclusively : 

" And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, 
and went not fully after the Lord, as did David 
his father. Then did Solomon build a high place 
for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is 
before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of 
the children of Amnion. And likewise did lie for all his 
strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto 
their gods. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, be- 
cause his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel 
which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded 
him concerning this thing, that he should not go after 
other gods : but he kept not that which the Lord com- 
manded. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Foras- 
much as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my 
covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, 
I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give 
it to thy servant." 

Also, chapter 12: 20-24 : 

"And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jero- 
boam was come again, that they sent and called him 
unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel : 
there was none that followed the house of David, but the 
tribe of Judah only. And when Kehoboam was come to 
Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the 
tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand 
3 



chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the 
house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam 
the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto 
Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam 
the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the 
house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the 
people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up. 
nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: 
return every man to his house ; for this thing is from me. 
They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord and 
returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord." 

Hence you see the right of David's having a perpetual 
representative on his throne was suspended on condition 
of obedience : Solomon failed to comply with the condi- 
tions, and the kingdom was taken from him and given to 
his servant. His kingdom was broken up. Two tribes 
only remained for a time attached to the throne of David; 
(hen those two were scattered to the four winds of heaven, 
and during eighteen hundred years David has had no 
royal representative upon his throne and kingdom. 

Now, in reference to Solomon's building the Temple of 
(he Lord; go with me to Zechariah. 31y opponent may 
affirm as often as he pleases that we have no King unless 
Christ is now a King. Let us turn from his assertions 
and read the glorious promise made by God through his 
prophet. It is found in Zechariah, 6th chapter, 12th and 
13th verses: 

"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the 
Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is 
The Branch ; and he shall grow up out of his place, and 
he shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall 
build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the 
glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and he shall 
be a priest upon his throne ; and the counsel of peace 
shall be between them both." 

I did not emphasize the pronoun "he" in this passage, 
as I should have done. We can not emphasize God's 
truth — the sacred promises on which he has hinged his 



35 

future and everlasting Kingdom too strongly. I will 
read the passage again : 

"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord 
of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The 
Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he 
shall build the temple of the Lord : even he shall build 
the temple of the Lord ; and he shall bear the glory, and 
shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and he shall be a priest 
upon his throne : and the counsel of peace shall be be- 
tween them both." 

Now, as to whether this throne is beyond or below the 
heavens — whether it is to be set up on the earth or far 
beyond the feeblest and most distant star that glitters 
in the pathway of heaven. I call your attention to the 
33d chapter of Jeremiah. I wonder that my opponent 
did not blush when the assertion was read that he should 
rule " on the land." I wish to prove that this " Righteous 
Branch " here spoken of by Jeremiah is none other than 
God's vicegerent upon earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
that his throne will be set up here on the earth, and not 
above the starry heavens. It is one thing simply to read 
over the words of testimony, and it is quite another to 
read the language and emphasize it properly, according 
to its true sense, and according to the meaning contained 
in it. Listen, if you please, to the prophet Jeremiah in 
the 33d chapter of his prophecy, commencing at the 15th 
and to the 19th, inclusively : 

" In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch 
of righteousness to grow up unto David ; and he shall ex- 
ecute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those 
days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell 
safely : and this is the name wherewith he shall be called, 
The Lord our Righteousness. For thus saith the Lord : 
David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of 
the house of Israel ; neither shall the priests the Levites 
want a man before me to offer burnt-offerings, and to 
kindle meat-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually." 

Jesus Christ shall then be a kingly priest upon his 
throne— he shall build the temple of the Lord— he shall 



36" 

execute judgment and righteousness in the land — and he* 
shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness. 

From what point of time forward is it that David shall 
never want a man to sit upon his throne ? I answer, from 
the time when the throne of Israel is established and 
Judah gathered home, and when the righteous King shall 
begin to execute judgment and righteousness "in the 
land." 

"For thus saith the Lord: David shall never want a 
man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ; neither 
shall the priests the Levites want a man beforecme/to 
offer burnt-offerings, and to kindle meat-offerings, and to 
do sacrifice continually." 

Will my opponent attempt to break the covenant of 
the Almighty God, which pledges him to bind Christ to 
David's throne so that David shall nevermore want a man 
to sit on his throne ? If he does I would forewarn him of 
the mighty task before him. The Lord says, that unless* 
you can break his covenant of the day and of the night 
you cannot break the covenant he has made that David's 
seed should inherit the throne of his kingdom forever and 
ever. Read the 20th and 21st verses of the 33d chapter 
of Jeremiah, my friend, and see what your prospect is of 
accomplishing the task you have taken upon yourself: 

"Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of 
the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there 
should not be day and night in their season; Then may 
also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that 
he should not have a son to reign upon his throne ; and 
with the Levites the priests, my ministers." 

I would advise you to read the 24th, 25th and 26th verses 
of the same chapter: 

"Considerest thou not what this people have spoken] 
saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he 
hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my 
people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 
Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and 
night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of 
heaven and earth : then will I cast awav the seed of Jacob 



37 

» 
afld David my servant, so that I will not take any of his 
seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob : for I will cause their captivity to return, and have 
mercy on them." 

I am afraid my friend Russell is implicated here. If he 
and his friends take away the promises which God has 
made to Israel, and apply those promises to a Gentile 
church, would it not be to stamp them with an everlast- 
ing stigma? It would prove to an intelligent; creation 
that you despise God's people, and covenant. 

From this time forward, we are told that David shall 
never want a man to sit upon his throne, and from that 
time forward this Righteous Branch, spoken of by the 
prophet, instead of being seated upon a throne in heaven, 
is to reign as a king upon earth, and his subjects are to be 
the twelve tribes of Israel. 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL— THIRD SPEECH. 

At the conclusion of my last speech we had just 
ascertained the time of the coronation of the King. 
Having found that the time of the coronation of the King 
was the time of his ascension on high, I was just on the 
point of bringing to your minds the thrilling contrast that 
there is between the coming spoken of by the prophet 
Daniel, and that which shall be when he comes to revisit 
our earth. In the 13th verse of the 2d chapter of Titus 
we have these words : " Looking for that blessed hope, 
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Sav- 
ior Jesus Christ." 

Here the Father and the Son are spoken of as coming- 
together. It is called the glorious appearing of the great 
God and our Savior Jesus Christ. On the other hand let 
us call your attention to the language employed by Daniel, 
when speaking of the time when universal empire was to 
be given to the Son. 



38 

" I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the 
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to 
the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before 
him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and 
a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should 
serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which 
shall not pass away, and his kingdom thai which shall not 
be destroyed." 

Here we have a thrilling contrast. When the Son shall 
come again to judge the quick and the dead, he shall come 
with his Father. When he came to the place where he 
was to receive the grant of universal empire he came to 
the Ancient of Days — he came to the Father and we are 
told that then, when he was escorted by the multitude of 
the celestial host near to the Father's throne, then there 
was given unto him a kingdom, that all people, nations 
and languages should serve him. You will find the lan- 
guage of the Apostle in Hebrews, 1st Chapter, 8th and 9th 
verses in perfect keeping and harmony with the view 
here presented. He then represents the Father as saying 
to the Son : 

"Thy throne, O God, 2s for ever and ever; a sceptre of 
righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast 
loved righteousness, and hated iniquity ; therefore God, 
even thy God, hath annointed thee with the oil of gladness 
above thy fellows." 

While thus we have before us the fact that the time of 
the coronation of the King as Lord of all, was at the time 
of his ascension into heaven. Keep also before your 
minds in connection with this thought the simple truth, 
that when the Son had thus ascended on high, had been 
thus crowned Lord of all, and was thus seated at the right 
hand of the Father he was to remain there until all his 
foes should be subdued. Now one of the foes that should 
be subdued is death; consequently the Son must remain 
seated at the right hand of the Father until the last human 
being shall have been brought out from under death's 
dominion, or in other words until the final resurrection. 



39 

We here leave this point in order to speak of the issu- 
ing of laws. Turn if you please to Micah, 4th Chapter, 1st 
ami 2d verses: 

" But ■ in the last clays it shall come to pass, t hat the 
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above 
the Liils : and people shall fknv unto it. And many nations 
shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the moun- 
tain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; 
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his 
paths ; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of 
the Lord from Jerusalem." 

This law of the King was to go forth at that point of 
time called "last days." In the preceding chapter it is 
declared that "Zion shall be ploughed as a field, and Jeru- 
salem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house 
as the high places of the forest." This is a vivid descrip- 
tion of the overthrow and demolition of the city of Jeru- 
salem, and then follows a prophetic declaration of what 
shall come to pass " in the last days," — that is to say, the 
last days of the city of Jerusalem immediately before the 
demolition and overthrow that had just been described. 
"In the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain 
of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the 
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and peo- 
ple shall flow unto it," 

In perfect harmony with this is the language of inspira- 
tion in Acts, 2d Chapter, 16th and 17th verses. When 
upon the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost was poured 
out upon the disciples, and they began to speak with other 
tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance, the multitude 
came together inquiring what caused that very unusual 
phenomenon. Peter in answer to their questions says : 

" But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel ; 
and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will 
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and 
your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall 
see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." 

Mark the peculiar force of the words, "last days." Ob- 



40 

serve that the voice of inspiration here declares that the 
very things that were being seen and heard there in the 
city of Jerusalem were the identical events foretold by 
the prophet, and that should come to pass in these u last 
days." Here we have clearly presented to our minds the 
idea of the time when these last days should occur. This 
being on the day of Pentecost, we have lixed the time 
when Micah said the law should go forth of Zion, and 
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. "This/' sail! 
Peter, calling their attention to what was right before 
the eyes of his hearers; "this that you now see " is the 
idea; "this" is that which was spoken of by the prophet 
Joel, and which he said should take place in these last 
lays. Now, either that point of time called "last days'" 
by the prophet had come when Peter lived, or it had not; 
if it had not come, then the prophecy itself is all out of 
joint ; but we cannot believe that prophecy is out of 
joint, and the inevitable consequence is that all who be- 
lieve God's truth must come to the conclusion that the 
time designated by the" prophet as "last days," had come 
in the time of Peter, and that the prophecy was fuliiilod 
upon the day of Pentecost. 

Let us turn now, and examine the 110th Psalm, an 
how this matter stands before us. Read the language 
contained in the 1st and 2d verses: 

"The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right 
hand, until 1 make thine enemies thy footstool. The 
Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion : 
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies/' 

" Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." Where : 
""In the midst of i/niw- enemiegi* Listen to the remain- 
ing verses of this Psalm : 

'•Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, 
in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the -morn- 
ing: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lord hath 
sworn, and will not repent. Thou at a priest forever afte* 
the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand 
shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath, lie 
shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places 



41 

with the deai bodies; he shall wound the heads over 
many countries. lie shall drink of the brook in the way : 
therefore shall he lift up the head." 

Observe now, it you piease, that all this is referred to 
the time of the Savior's ruling— when he should rule in 
the midst of his enemies — when the Lord of Hosts in his 
wrath should strike through kings — when the dead bodies 
of his enemies should lie scattered about over the face of 
the country. And this was to be at the very time when he 
was to be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 
This brings us back again to the time when the law 
should go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from 
Jerusalem. From this point it stretches on and on, with- 
out a single break of one moment until the time when, 
the last human being shall be brought out of Death's 
dominion. ^The last enemy that shall be destroyed is 
death." Death never can be destroyed so long as death 
has ruling power; but death will have 'ruling power as 
long as one human being remains under Lis domin- 
ion ; and hence the conclusion is irresistible that the Son 
is to remain at the Father's right hand until all the fam- 
ily of man that have been in their graves shall come 
forth, forever free from the power and dominion of the 
"grim monster." And if the Son remains at the right 
hand of the Father until that time, I am perfectly sure of 
one thing, and that is this: that ever since the time when 
the Righteous Branch, spoken of by the prophet, was 
raised up, even down to this present hour, he has been 
sitting upon his throne enjoying the possession of the 
Kingdom spoken of in Daniel, 2d chapter and 44th 
verse. 

I now invite your careful attention to the next point 
which presents itself for our consideration, which is one 
of the requirements or essential elements of a Kingdom : 
subjects, submitting themselves to be governed by the 
laws. And again I call your attention to the language of 
Micah, 4th chapter and 2d verse. It is there not only 
stated that the law should go forth from Zion and the 
word of the Lord from Jerusalem, but is is also asserted 



42 

that "many nations shall come and say, Come, and let ns 
go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of 
the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and 
we will walk in his paths. 11 The first thought that I wish 
to impress upon your minds just here, is the idea of the 
" many nations " here mentioned. Go, now, with mo to 
the Acts of the Apostles, and let us read from the 2d 
chapter, beginning with the 2d verse : 

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a 
mighty rushing wind, and it tilled all the house where 
they were sitting. And there appeared unto them eleven 
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And 
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to 
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utter 
ance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, de- 
vout men, out of every nation under heaven. >.ow 
when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, 
and were confounded, because that every man heard 
them speak in his own language. And they were all 
amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, 
are not all these which speak Galileans ? And how hear 
we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born ( 
Farthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in 
Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadoeia, in Pontas 
and Asia, Phyrgin, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the 
parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Koine, 
Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear 
them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God." 

Here we have multitudes coming together, and for 
what purpose? Micah answers the question beforehand. 
The multitudes were to say, "Come and let us go up to 
the house of the God of Jacob ; he will teach us of his 
ways, and we will walk in his paths." The purpose of 
their coming was to learn the ways of the Lord, that they 
might walk in his paths, because out of Mount Zion 
should go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from 
Jerusalem. Having made this inquiry, and finding ii thus 
answered, let us listen further to the language of Peter 
on this important occasion. Christ had been crucilied — 



43 

he had been buried — lie had risen again from the dead, 
and ascended up on high ; and this is the grand turning 
point of the apostle's theme. In the 36th verse, in evi- 
dent allusion to the exaltation of Christ to the right hand 
of the Father on high, he says to them : 

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know that God 
hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both 
Lord and Christ." And we are told in the following 
verse, that when they heard this they were pierced to the 
heart, and said, " Men and brethren, what shall we do ? " 
Here was a call for a royal law; they were at that very 
time standing upon Mount Zion, the mountain of the city 
of Jerusalem upon which the temple stood. Here were 
multitudes of people from many nations, gathered to- 
gether unto the house of the Lord. They called for the 
law that should go forth from Mount Zion, and it was 
given them in these words, found in the 38th and 39th 
verses : 

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized 
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the re- 
mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your chil- 
dren, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the 
Lord our God shall call." 

Here we have the law issued from Mount Zion and the 
word of the Lord going forth from Jerusalem ; and in close 
connection therewith we find subjects by the thousand 
submitting to that law. In the 41st verse of the same 
chapter we read : 

"Then they that gladly received his word were bap 
tized : and the same day there were added unto them 
about three thousand souls." 

Here we have found already all of the essential el- 
ements of a kingdom : first a King, crowned ; second, the 
issuing of laws; third, subjects submitting to those laws. 
They all concentrate upon the day mentioned in Acts, 2d 
chapter and first verse : "And when the clay of Pente- 
cost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one 
place." Here, then, we might with perfect confidence 



44 

forever rest the argument, and assert that the KiiigdfiBi 
of God was set up on the day of Pentecost. 

Here, however, are other matters of moment to which 
I call your attention. Paul, in the epistle to the Corinth- 
ians, 1st chapter and loth verse, in allusion to the Father, 
says : 

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, 
and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son." 

Now, mark that the kingdom here spoken of is called 
by the apostle, "the kingdom of God's dear Son." Mark, 
in connection with this thought, another fact, that Paul 
and his brethren, according to his own statement, were 
at that time already translated into that kingdom. In 
the 12th chapter of Hebrews, and at the 28th verse, the 
apostle speaking of this same kingdom, says, that he and 
his brethren were then receiving it: "Wherefore we, re- 
receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have 
grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with rev- 
erence and godly fear." They were receiving it, and it 
was a kingdom which could not be moved. Daniel, 2d 
chapter and 41th verse, has precisely the same iden ex- 
pressed in these words, that the kingdom is one that 
"shall never be destroyed." The words in both places 
indicate exactly the same thing. In Daniel it is said not 
only that the kingdom shall not be destroyed, bait also, 
that it " shall not be left to other people." In the other 
place, Hebrews, 12th chapter, 28th verse, it is said that 
Paul and his brethren were then receiving it. In Daniel, 
7th chapter and 18th verse, it is said, "the saints of the 
Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the king- 
dom forever, even forever and ever." The term " take " 
used here, is a military term. They were to take the king- 
dom and possess it forever and forever. While this is the 
length of the period in which the kingdom should be 
possessed, observe that in the other place, Daniel, 2d 
chapter, 44th verse, it is said that "the kingdom shall not 
be left to other people." Here, too, Ave find an explana- 
tion of the peculiar language of the apostle John in Rev- 
elations, 1st chapter and 9th verse : 



45 

"I, John, who am also your brother, and companion in 
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus 
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word 
of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." 

Here John not only represents himself as being with 
his brethren in tribulation, but also in the kingdom of our 
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, That kingdom must have 
been in existence then or John could not have been in it 
as he says he was. That kingdom also must have been in? 
existence at the time when Paul wrote his Colossian let- 
ter, for, if it was not, he could not have told the truth when 
he said he and his brethren had been translated into it.. 
Neither the declaration of John the revelator, nor that of 
the Apostle Paul could be reconciled with truth upon 
any other hypothesis than this— that the kingdom of God 
was already set up; and here again we might with perfect 
safety rest the argument, 

Go with me to Matthew, 3d chapter and 1st and 2d 
verses : "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching 
in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Kepent ye, for the 
kii.gdom of heaven is at hand." What does the language 
of the second verse mean! 1 It can not be construed to 
mean anything more or less than this: that the kingdom 
of heaven was near by — that it was come nigh unto them. 
The Savior after he was baptized, said : "Eepent, for the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand." He sent out his seventy 
disciples to tell the people the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand; repent, and believe, and be baptized. Our Savior 
taught his disciples, when they prayed, to say: ^-Our 
Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name ; thy 
kingdom come.' 1 '' All these circumstances indicate clearly 
and conclusively the fact that the kingdom of God had 
not yet come, but was near at hand. But let us go a little- 
farther. The enemies of Christ have put him to death. 
He enters Death's domain ; but on the third day he rises 
from the tomb. After his resurrection from the grave, we 
see him standing upon the earth surrounded by his disci-- 
pies. He lifts his hands and bestows upon them his last v 
parting blessing. Pie then ascends in their view, until a 



46 

bright cloud receives him out of their sight. And as he 
ascends the skies, attended by his angelic escort, the voice 
of the Father is heard saying unto him: "Because thou 
hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, sit thou on 
my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. 1 ' While 
we have this testimony upon one side in point of time 
of the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Savior, on 
the other side of that event in point of time, we have evi- 
dence no less strong by which to establish the fact that 
the kingdom of God was set up at the time already indi- 
cated. Before the period of Christ's resurrection from the 
dead and his ascending upon high, the kingdom of God is 
uniformly spoken of as being at hand; while on the other 
hand, after that event, no one, by God's authority, speaks 
of it as being at hand, but all the inspired writers speak 
of it as being already established. People were said to 
have been translated into that kingdom, and as having 
received it. 

Our next point will be the increase or growth of this 
kingdom; for, mark you, if the kingdom of God is not to 
be set up until the end of all things shall come, then thai 
kingdom can never know any such thing as increase. 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON— THIRD SPEECH. 

I have nothing to which to reply in the present argu- 
ment. I will simply employ the language of John : u Pre- 
pare ye the way of the Lord." Every mountain of objec- 
tion shall be laid low ; the crqoked places shall be made 
straight and the rough plaaejs smooth; that the car of 
truth may move on majestically and gloriously. I shall 
notice only such objections as are thrown across the track 
of God's eternal truth. I desire, in the first place, to read 
to you the last words the sweet psalmist of Israel ever 
uttered. You remember the covenant God made with 
David, concerning his throne and kingdom, as recorded 



47 

in the 7th chapter of 2d Samuel, and in the 17th chapter 
of 2d Chronicles. You recollect that when my time ex- 
pired I had just introduced the eternal Jehovah as a wit- 
ness. Now I desire that David may be brought in as a 
witness, in order to prepare the way for the great Jeho- 
vah, in reference to the nature of the covenant which God 
made with him just before his death. The language to 
which I refer you may find in 2d Samuel, 23d chapter. 1 
will read the first five verses: "Now, these be the last 
words of David. David, the son of Jesse, said, and the 
man who was raised up on high, the annointed of the God 
of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said : The Spirit 
of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. 
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He 
that rnleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of 
God. And he shall be as the light of the morning when 
the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds: as the 
tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining 
after rain. Although my house be not so with God; vet- 
he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered 
in all things, and sure : tor this is all my salvation and all 
my desire, although he make it not to grow." 

Here we have exhibited to us the nature of the ever- 
lasting covenant which God had made with David. We 
have here, in the first place, the expression that all his 
salvation, and all his desire, were concentrated in the ful- 
filment of this covenant ; and, in the next place, we have 
the honest acknowledgment of the truth fhat his house 
was not in the condition that it shall be when God 
shall fulfill His covenant. Now, what and where was this 
throne of David which was to be established forever? and 
how far off was the time when it should be thus perma- 
nently established ? Listen, now, to the great God upon 
this point. Turn to the 89th Psalm. Who is the speaker? 
The great God! Kead from the 3d verse. I think the 
question will certainly be settled between me and my 
opponent on three or four points before we leave this 
psalm : " I have made a covenant with my chosen ; I have 
sworn unto David my servant ; thy seed will I establish 



48 

forever, and build up my throne to all generations. Se- 
lah." Again, lie says in the 27th, 38th and 29th verses: 
"Also, I will make him my first-born, higher than the 
kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him forever- 
more, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His 
seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as 
the days of heaven." 

The, endless ages of eternity — for these are heaven's 
days — shall measure the duration of the throne and em- 
pire of the Son of God, and son of David, which he shall 
possess in fulfillment of the oath of the eternal and un- 
changeable Lord God. Again, he says in the 34th and 
following verses of this same psalm : " My covenant will 
I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my 
lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not 
lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever and his 
throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for- 
ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. " 
As soon may we expect the moon to grow dim and fade 
from the heavens, and the sun to roll backward upon the 
fountains of light, as that God's oath and covenant shall 
be broken by separating Jesus Christ from the throne and 
kingdom of David. 

I next introduce the prophet Isaiah as a witness upon 
these four points ; first, who will be the king to reign over 
the kingdom forever; second, where will be his throne, 
and in what will it consist; third, what will be the char- 
acter of his subjects, and whto will 1 hey lie, and fourth, 
how long will the kingdom continue. 

You have heard already the testimony of the inspired 
prophet, the dying testimony of David, and the testimony 
of the Eternal God. I now call attention once more to 
the language of the prophet Isaiah. Wrapped in mystic 
vision he rolled back the curtains of time, and unfolded 
the future reign of David's royal Son. Five hundred years 
before his birth ho says : 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his 
name shall be called Wonderful. Counseller, The mighty 



49 

God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of 
the increase of his government and peace there shall he 
no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with 
justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the 
Lord of hosts will perform this." 

What assurance have we of the fulfillment of this glori- 
ous promise ? " The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will per- 
form this." 

The next witness that I shall introduce to you is the 
Angel Gabriel. Descending from his high seat of glory 
he came to Mary just before this child is born — just be- 
fore this Son is given, and says to her that she shall con- 
ceive and bring forth a son, and he shall be called the 
son of the Highest. That is just what Nathan told David. 
"He shall be called my son," said God, speaking through 
the mouth of Nathan his prophet. I take no issue 
with my opponent in regard to the endless duration 
of the Kingdom. He may emphasize the word ' forever ' 
as much as he pleases — it is the nature of the kingdom of 
God, and not its endless duration, which forms the great 
gulf that separates us as far as Lazarus was separated 
from Dives. 

Now there is not a church upon the face of the earth 
that does not accept the testimony of the Angel Gabriel 
on this point. There is not a person on the globe who 
would think of impeaching Gabriel's testimony, when he 
said a virgin should conceive and bring forth a son. It 
required nothing but naked faith in God's veracity. All 
the friends of Christianity — all the friends of the Bible 
believe it. All these statements they take literally. 
What is the matter that they must spiritualize all the 
glorious promises in regard to the Kingdom of God ? The 
very same witness has given his testimony as in the 
other case, and under as solemn an obligation, and there 
is not a single broken link in the golden chain that binds 
Christ to David's throne, and gives him as the subjects of 
his rule, the twelve tribes of Israel, for ever and ever. 
Hear Gabriel's testimony in regard to the nature of the 



50 

kingdom, as found in Luke 1st chap., 31st to 33d verses, 
inclusive : 

" And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and 
bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He 
shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: 
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his 
father David ; And he shall reign over the house of Jacob 
forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." 

Here Gabriel asserts the simple fact that the Lord God 
shall give unto Jesus Christ the throne of David. Why 
will our opponents insist upon impeaching their own wit- 
ness ? Will you receive the statement of the angel that 
a virgin should conceive and bring forth a son literally? 
Do you assert that this is figurative language ? If not, 
what authority have you for the statement, that the 
throne of David, promised in the same connection, to 
Christ forever, is a spiritual throne, and not literally the 
throne of David ? If one was figurative the other was 
also. We must either make all spiritual or all literal. 
If you would have a spiritual kingdom you must have a 
spiritual virgin, a mystical or spiritual son of God, and 
deny the whole thing as being a matter of fact transac- 
tion ; or otherwise you must make it all literal. You 
must understand a literal virgin, a real son of God — he 
must be literally great and must reign literally on the 
throne of his father David. Make it all literal and all is 
plain, clear and satisfactory ; nor can it be made so in any 
other way. If some such statement should be made in 
the present daj r to some virgin in America about the 
Presidential chair, or the city of Washington, or the gov- 
ernment of the United States, would she think of spirit- 
ualizing it? We have no evidence that Mary had gradu- 
ated in a modern theological school — she could have had 
no other view of David's throne and the house of Jacob, 
than that of David's kingly power in Jerusalem over the 
twelve tribes of Israel. 

I will bring before you another witness, the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Go to the 19th chapter of Matthew, and 16th 
verse. A man had just come to Christ with sincerity and 



51 

deep interest beaming from his noble countenance. We 
are told that when the Savior saw him he loved him. He 
said to the Savior; u Good master, what good thing shall 
I do that I may have eternal life?" Christ replied, " Why 
callest thou me good ? there is none good but one, that is 
God ; but if thou wilt enter into life keep the command- 
ments." The response of the young man Mas, ' : all these 
have I kept from my youth up — what Tack I yet ?" Christ 
well knew where the idol was that the young man wor- 
shiped, and he said to him, " Go and sell that thou hast 
and give to the poor, and come and follow me." We are 
told that when the young man heard that he went away 
sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Peter said to 
Christ after he had departed, "Now Lord, we have left all 
and followed thee, what shall we have there'for?" Peter 
was anxious to know what kind of pay he was going to 
receive. Listen now to Christ's response to this Inquiry. 
"Ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when 
the son of man shall sit in the throne of his gloiy, ye also 
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel." Here we have a confirmation of our glorious 
hope from the mouth of Christ himself. When the king- 
dom of God shall be set up, Christ shall be the King, and 
the twelve tribes of Israel his kingdom over which he 
shall rule. 

In the next place, I appeal to the testimony of the wise 
men of the East, who followed the glittering star in heav- 
en's dome until it stood still over the manger where the 
Son of God lay. They found him there. They bowed be- 
fore him and worshiped him under the lofty title of King 
of the Jews. 

The next witnesses I shall bring before you are Pontius 
Pilate and Christ. Paul declares, in reference to our 
Savior's testimony, that he bore a noble testimony before 
Pilate. Listen to the testimony he bore in reference to 
his title to the kingdom when he was standing as a con- 
demned criminal before Pilate. Pilate said to him : "Art 
thou the King of the Jews?" Christ answered him in 
these words: "Thou sayest that I am king," which is 



52 

equivalent to saying, "Thou sayest the truth." "To tMj 
end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world." 
John xviii: 37; 1st Tim. vi : 13. To what end was the Son 
of God born? And for what did he come into the world ? 
For the purpose of being a king. Such was the testimony 
of the Son of God himself, uttered in the midst of the 
tragic scenes that preceded his death. I now want to add 
the testimony of the Roman Governor to that of Christ. 
It was the custom of the Romans, in every case of death 
by crucifixion, to write upon the cross the charge on which 
the criminal had been condemned to death. Vv r e will now 
have Pilate decide, as ajudge, who the king and subjects of 
God's kingdom shall be. In three living, spoken lan- 
guages, the three dominant languages of the world, at 
that time, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, were written, in 
Haming characters, upon that cross, these words : "JESUS 
GF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS." The 
infamy and the glory of the suffering Son of God unite in 
this declaration. "Nazareth" is expressive of his infamy 
— that he was "King of the Jews," expresses his glory. 
When I preach the cross of Christ I do not preach about 
the merit attached to two transfixed pieces of wood. 
There was no more saving power in the cross upon which 
the Savior died than there was in those of the two thieves 
who were crucified with him. The glory of the cross of 
Christ is comprehended in the testimony which Pilate 
bote in regard to the kingdom of God and the subjects 
of that kingdom when he wrote upon the cross this in- 
scription : "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." 

Where shall I go for testimony in regard to the king- 
dom of God if this will not decide the question? I will 
call your attention to only one more witness — to another 
kind of testimony — namely, that of Peter, on the day of 
Pentecost. Christ had died the death of the cross — he 
had entered the grave and lain there in Death's domin- 
ions for three days — he had risen from the tomb and for 
forty days had walked the earth and held communion 
with his disciples. He then prepared to take his leave of 
them. He urged upon them the great responsibility rest- 



ing upon them, of standing forth as God's representatives 
upon earth, through whom the Gospel should be made 
known to all the nations of the world. He commissioned 
them to go forth into all the world as the heralds of sal- 
vation, but directed them to tarry at Jerusalem until they 
should be endued with power from on high. And now 
the da}' of Pentecost had fully come, and power from 
heaven had fallen upon the disciples of the Lord. The 
Holy Ghost is poured out upon them, and in the midst of 
the wonderful and startling scenes that followed, Peter 
stood forth and preached the first Gospel sermon that, 
ever was pronounced under the great commission — " Go 
ye into all the world and preach my Gospel to every crea- 
ture " — and there were added unto the church, in one day, 
three thousand souls, out of seventeen different nations 
represented in the mighty gathering together of the peo- 
ple in the city of Jerusalem at the great feast of Pente- 
cost. And permit me to say just here that I think I can 
easily discriminate between three thousand souls out of 
every nation under heaven and the nations themselves 
from winch they came. The distinction is manifest and 
has no difficulty at all for me, nor will it have any for my 
friend if he is willing to understand it aright. Peter com- 
mences his sermon. He tells the Jews that the}' had with 
wicked hands crucified the Prince of Life and hanged him 
on a tree. " Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the 
pains of death, because it was not possible that he should 
be holden of it." Why was it not possible for death to 
fasten its iron fangs upon the Savior forever? Had Death 
not held dominion over the whole human race for four 
thousand years? Turn to the 2d chapter of Acts where 
this transaction is recorded, and there, in the 30th verse, 
you will find the reason why death could not hold do- 
minion over the son of the Living God forever. God's 
oath and covenant were involved; and sooner would 
heaven and earth pass than these should fail. See 
Actsii: 30: "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing 
that God had sworn, with an oath to him, that of the 
fruit of his loins, according -to the flesh, he would raise 



54 

up Christ to sit on his throne." And Psalms 132: 11 : "The 
Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn 
from it ; of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne/* 
And in the 37th verse of this same chapter, we learn the 
result of this language on the part of Peter. When he 
had clearly proved to them that in putting to death Jesua 
Christ they had not simply rid the world of a '"•pestilent, 
fellow," but that they had killed God's annotated one— him 
who was ordained of God to occupy David's throne — cru- 
cified their own national hope and the destined monarch 
of the world. Then it was that conviction seized upon 
their hearts and they cried out: "Men and brethren, 
what shall we do ?" 

What was the great turning point, the climax of this 
great gospel sermon? The culminating point of the 
apostle's theme was the fulfillment of God's promises in 
raising up Christ from the dead, in order that in due time 
he should sit upon David's throne and rule over the 
twelve tribes of Israel; for the same oath and covenant 
which pledges the great Jehovah to place his Son upon 
David's throne, and retain him there while the sun and 
moon shall shine, and while the days of heaven shall roll 
on, equally pledges him to give him David's kingdom 
forever. The import of that great revival sermon on 
that, august occasion, was the fulfillment of the oath and 
covenant of God, in placing Christ upon David's throne 
and kingdom. But when this oath and covenant shall be 
verified, the Son of God and the royal son of David will 
be the Icing, and the twelve tribes of Israel will be the 
subjects of the kingdom of God. Christ is the legal heir 
to David's throne. Though all the prophecies should 
center in him, still, unless his legitimacy as David's legal 
successor could be sustained, his title cannot be validated. 

In Matthew, 1st chapter, we find a long line of royal 
ancestors, in which the legal genealogy of Christ may be 
be traced back to David's throne. In Luke, 3d chapter, 
we find another line of genealogy leading back to David. 
One line runs from Joseph, the legal father of Christ, and 
the other line from Heli, the father of Mary, its not being 



55 

customary to recon the genealogy of women. One of 
these lines of genealogy descended from David through 
Solomon his royal son, and the other through Nathan the 
prophet. These lines run parallel until united in the 
house of Zorobabel ; then branching out, they run like 
two parallel lines until they are united in Joseph and 
Mary; since which the Jews have never chronicled David's 
genealogy. These lines were legally united by the mar- 
riage of Joseph and Mary, and Christ being their first- 
born, has all the right, legally and naturally, to David's 
throne. And having ascended to heaven with issue, 
he has the keys to David's throne ; he can open and no 
man can shut, and when he shuts no man can open. He 
is heir to David's literal throne and kingdom. 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL— FOURTH SPEECH. 

We first call attention to the simple truth that David 
never owned a throne in his own right; that is to say, the 
right of property never was in him, but in another, and it 
was his only by right of occupancy — as this stand is now 
mine by the same right. Tarn to 1st Ohornicles, 29th 
chapter and 23d verse. It reads as follows : 

"Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king 
instead of David his father, and prospered ; and all Israel 
obeyed him." 

Here the declaration is made that the throne upon 
which David sat was the Lord's throne. We wish this 
fact kept fully in mind from this time on. Perhaps 
we shall not mention it again until our final closing 
speech. 

I now invite your attention to the 32d chapter of Isaiah, 
where you will find abundant and overwhelming proof 
that the kingdom of the Messiah should exist contempo- 
raneously with a state of probation : 

\ 



56 

"Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and 
princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as a 
hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tem- 
pest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of 
a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that 
see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that bear shall 
hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand 
knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be 
ready to speak plainly. The vile person shall be no more 
called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For 
the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will 
work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error 
against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry; 
and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The 
instruments also of the churl are evil : he deviseth wicked 
devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when 
the needy speaketh right." 

Such shall be the condition of things among the na- 
tions of the earth at the very time when this king 
shall reign and prosper. "The vile person will still speak 
villainy, and his heart will work iniquity," and during this 
very time the king here spoken of shall reign and pros- 
per. His reign therefore is now, in a state of probation, 
and not hereafter, when a state of probation shall no 
longer exist. 

1 wish in the next place to call your attention to Isaiah, 
9th chapter, 6th and 7th verses, with reference especially 
to the hight and degree of this prosperity : 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his 
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prance of 
Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace 
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and 
upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with 
judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." 

Here the one single thought that I wish to fasten upon 
your minds is this ; "Of the increase of his government 



57 

and peace there shall be no end." We have already 
found the beginning of his government. Here it is 
spoken of as increasing. I can imagine only three ways 
in which a government can increase: first, by the in- 
crease of its territory; second by the increase of power 
in the hands of the ruler ; and third, by the increase in 
the number of its citizens. By one or all of these Avays 
a kingdom may increase, and in no other way. How, 
therefore, may the kingdom of God increase? It cannot 
increase by the increase of power in the hands of the 
ruler, because Matthew, in the 28th chapter of his gospel, 
and at the 18th verse, tells us that "Jesus came and spake 
unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven 
and in earth." Hence there can be no increase of this 
kingdom through an increase of power in the hands of 
the ruler. We turn once more and ask, could the king- 
dom increase through an increase in the extent of its 
territorial area ? I answer, no. The sceptre of the king 
already sways rightfully over all heaven and earth ; hence, 
no such thing is possible as an increase of his territory. 

There is but one single process remaining, and that is 
by an increase in the number of the subjects of the king- 
dom. And I know of only two ways in which the num- 
ber of subjects of a government can be increased : one 
of them is the way in which kingdoms of an earthly na- 
ture increase the number of their subjects, and we can- 
not expect the kingdom of Christ, which is not of this 
world, to increase in that manner. There is but one way 
left for the increase of subjects of this kingdom, and that 
is by what is called in common parlance, being "born 
again," or if you please, conversion. This is to be the 
process of its growth and increase, for the kingdom is to 
be a spiritual and not a fleshly one. 

Turn, now, and look at Daniel, 2d chapter and 35th 
verse, where we have an idea of the origin and beginning 
of this kingdom, under the similitude of a small stone 
cut from the mountain side without hands, which smote 
the great image upon its feet, and then beginning to ex- 
pand, became a great mountain and filled the whole 



58 

earth. We have already said enough to indicate what 
the nature of the process is, by which this growth is in he 
effected. Turn, now, if you please, to Acts, 1st cnapter 
and 15th verse, and there you will learn that on the day of 
Pentecost the number of the subjects of Christ's king- 
dom was about an hundred and twenty; and as they 
were assembled with one accord in one place, (as we 
are told in the succeeding chapter) suddenly there came 
a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it 
filled all the house where they were sitting. It was the 
trump of redeeming grace and dying love. The Holy 
Spirit was poured out in rich effusion, in order that the 
people might be prepared to bow in submission to that 
divine law which was soon to go forth from Zion, and thus 
be translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. The 
royal banner of the Prince of Peace was here unfurled, 
and three thousand souls were added to the Church — 
were born into that kingdom thatsame day. The king- 
dom was beginning to grow. In its commencement it had 
only an hundred and twenty citizens, or subjects, upon 
the face of the earth, but on the very first day that the 
battle was gained, three thousand surrendered at discre- 
tion and bowed themselves in submission and allegiance 
to him who "hath upon his vesture and upon his thigh a 
name written, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Add, 
now, the three thousand converts to the original number 
of the subjects of Christ's Kingdom, and you find that 
so rapidly has the Kingdom of God grown and increased, 
that ere the sun goes down it numbers three thousand 
one hundred and twenty souls. 

Turn, now, to Acts, 4th chapter and 4th verse, and here 
again we find the royal banner of King Immanuel un- 
furled, and many of them that heard the word believed, 
"and the nnmber of the men was about five thousand. 
Add this number to the number of those who had sub- 
milted to the authority of the King when the sun set on 
the day of Pentecost, and we find the Kingdom lias in- 
creased until it embraces the goodly number of eight 
thousand one hundred and twenty souls. Pass on a little 



further in this interesting history, and in the 5th chapter 
we find that believers were still added to the Lord — "mul- 
titudes both of men and women." In the 28th verse of this 
5th chapter we find the High Priest telling the apostles 
that they had "filled all Jerusalem with this doctrine." 
And so the gospel spread, the Kingdom of God increased. 
Samaria and Gallilee heard the glad tidings of salvation 
and bowed in submission to God's Son, and were trans- 
lated into his kingdom, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth are made vocal with the high-sounding praises of 
Immanuel. The Kingdom of Heaven, said the Savior, is 
like unto a little leaven which a woman took and hid in 
three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. 
Daniel also brings forcibly and irresistibly before our 
minds the same characteristic mark of this kingdom, un- 
der the figure of a small stone which enlarged, and grew, 
and expanded until it became a great mountain and filled 
the whole earth. As long as the glorious gospel of the 
Prince of Peace shall be preached upon this earth, men 
will submit to its authority, and thus onward and onward 
still in triumph this sublime institution will move, until 
earth's hills and valleys shall become vocal with the 
praises of the King Immanuel. 

The time will come, however, when the solemn decla- 
ration will go forth from the presence of him who is 
alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the first and 
the last, "Let him who is unjust be unjust still, and he 
that is filthy let him be filthy still, and he that is righteous 
let him be righteous still, and he that is holy let him be 
holy still. Then shall come the end of all things accord- 
ing to the language of 1st Corinthians, 15th chapter, and 
2-ith and 25th verses : 

" Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered 
up the kingdom to God, even the Father when he shall 
have put down all rule, and all authority and power; for 
he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his 
feet." 

Here we have tracked the course of the reign of Christ 
from his coronation till the time when, in the graphic 



60 

language of Paul, "the last enemy is subdued under his 
feet." This measures all the space of time complete and 
entire from the time of Christ's ascension into heaven, 
mentioned in Acts, 1st chapter, down to the time when all 
things shall be subdued unto him, mentioned in 1st Cor. 
15th chapter. " Then cometh the end, when he shall have 
delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when 
he shall have put down all rule, and authority and 
power." Here we have next in order the giving up of 
the kingdom. Now what kingdom is it that is thus to be 
given up to the Father? If 1 should give this little manu- 
script which I now hold in my hand to one of my audi- 
ence would it not be the same thing it is now ? Undoubt- 
edly it would. The transfer would not change it a par- 
ticle. And when the time appointed shall come, and the 
Son shall render up to the Father the kingdom he had 
been in possession of, will it not be the same and none 
other ? Certainly it will. The Son is to give up the king- 
dom to the Father, and in order that he may give up the 
kingdom to the Father he must have been in the posses- 
sion of that kingdom. 

I now call your attention to Acts 3d chapter, 20th and 
21st verses: "And he shall send Jesus Christ, which be- 
fore was preached unto you ; whom the heaven must 
receive until the times of restitution of all tilings, which 
God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets 
since the world began." 

Here mark particularly this one simple fact, that when 
the Savior went to heaven he was to sit there on the right 
hand of the Father, until all that had been spoken by the 
prophets since the world began shoifd be accomplished. 
Do you recollect the prophecy of the introduction of a 
new heaven and a new r earth — John saw it in prophetic 
vision, as it is recorded in the 1st verse of the 21st chap- 
ter of Revelations : "And I saw a new heaven and a new 
earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed 
away, and there was no more sea." If therefore, the Son 
is to remain at the right hand of the Father on high until 
all that was spoken by the prophets should be fulfilled, 



CI 

there he is to remain then until the moving away of the 
present heaven and of the present earth, and the intro- 
duction of the new. Turn now to the 2d Epistle of Paul 
to Timothy, and read the first verse of the 4th chapter. 
" I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his ap- 
pearing and his kingdom."' 

Here you see that Christ is to judge both the living 
and the dead at the time of his appearing and kingdom. 
The term, "the dead" embraces all the dead. Every 
human being is to be brought out from under death's do- 
minion and death's power to be demolished. Then is he 
to judge both the living and the dead, sitting upon the 
throne of his kingdom. Turn again to Matthew, 25th 
chapter, 31st verse, and thence on. 

"When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory ; and before him shall be gathered all 
nations; and lie shall separate them one from another, as a 
shepherd divideth hi^ sheep from the goats; And he shall 
set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on (he left." 

Notice here that the time here spoken of as the time of 
his appearing and kingdom, is identically the same with 
the time of his coming to judge the living and the dead, 
/'. <?., the whole world. 

Go with me now to 2d Thessalonians 2d chapter, 1st 
and id verses: " Now we beseech you, brethren, by the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering 
together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, 
or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by let- 
ter as from us, as that. the day of Christ is at hand." 

The Thessalonians, to whom this letter of the Apostle 
is addressed, had become somewhat discomposed by the 
idea that the second coming of the Savior was quite near 
at hand. Paul learned this and he here attempts to in- 
struct them better. Pass on to the 8th verse of this same 
chapter : " And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom 
the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and 
shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." 



62 

The "man of sin" is to be destroyed at this time — the 
time of the Lord's second coming, when the dead are to 
be raised, for "all that are in their graves shall hear his 
voice and shall come forth," and he is then to judge both 
the living and the dead. He is then to separate the 
righteous from the wicked as a shepherd divideth his 
sheep from the goats. The condition of every human 
being is to be then finally and forever fixed. And this is 
the emphatic reason why St. Peter says to his brethren: 
"For so shall an entrance be administered unto us abun- 
dantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ." From this point onward the Gospel 
banner is to be no more unfurled — no more offers of mercy 
are to be extended — the proclamation goes forth, " lie 
that is filthy let him be filthy still," and the wicked are 
driven away in their wickedness, banished forever from 
the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. The 
Son of God sitting upon the throne of his glory as the 
judge of all the earth, says to those on his right hand, in 
this the day of his coming, "come ye blessed of my Father 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world." All these things Ave have concentrating 
right at the time of " his coming." It is at this particular 
time, the time of "his coming," that the elements are to 
melt with fervent heat, the heavens are to be rolled 
together like a. scroll, the present heavens and earth are 
to move aside with a great noise and give room for a new 
heaven and a new earth. All these sublime events con- 
centrating as they do upon the very time called in the 
passages I have just read to you, "the time of his com- 
ing," all testify to the truth, that when the son of man 
shall come a second time there can be no such thing as 
an earthly kingdom upon this globe. 

I will here examine what is supposed to be a difficulty. 
I may be asked this question : Is not the Lord to come at 
the time of the first resurrection ? I answer, No. It is at 
the time of the second resurrection that his coming shall 
take place. None but those who suffered death by vio- 
lence for their advocacy of the truth will be found in the 



63 

first resurrection. Read Revelations, 20th chapter, 4th 
and 7th verses, inclusive. " And I saw thrones, and they 
sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and 
I raw the souls of them that were beheaded for the wit- 
ness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not 
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had re- 
ceived his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; 
and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thous- 
and years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- 
rection : on such the second death hath no power, but 
they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign 
with him a thousand years. And when the thousand 
years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." 

Here we have presented the very idea that I desire to 
bring before you — that none but the old martyrs shall 
be found in the first resurreftion. Examine if you please 
the description that is given us of the last and final re- 
surrection, found in the same chapter and at the 12th 
verse : " And I saw the dead, small and great stand before 
God ; and the books were opened ; and another book was 
open, which is the book of life ; and the dead were judged 
out of those things which were written in the books, ac- 
cording to their works. 

Then in the verses following, the Revelator tells us 
where the dead come from. 

"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and 
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them ; 
and they were judged every man according to their 
works." Mark the 15th verse : " And whosoever was not 
found written in the book of life was cast into the lake 
of fire." 

Why are these words used in reference to the end of a 
certain class of persons'? Are there not some who will 
be found in the last resurrection whose names are re- 
corded in the Lamb*s book of life ? It is clear that there 
are. There will be both righteous and wicked concerned 
in the second resurrection, while none but the old martyrs 



04 

will be found to have a part in the first, God calling them 
up from the grave before the general resurrection, in 
order to reward them for the sufferings they had endured, 
while the rest of the race shall still be wrapped in the 
slumbers of the tomb, and "they shall live and reign with 
Christ a thousand years." We should not fail to observe, 
however, that while the assertion is made that these 
having part in the first resurrection shall live and reign 
with Christ a thousand years, the word with does not 
always indicate or signify personal presence. Paul says 
of himself and his brethren, "we were buried with him in 
baptism." Does the word with, as there employed sig- 
nify actual personal presence ? No — nor does it signify 
actual personal presence in the passage before us — for we 
are told in a passage of scripture to which your attention 
has been frequently called during the progress of this 
discussion, that the son shall remain at the right hand of 
the Father, until death, the last enemy is despoiled of all 
his power — until the last human being has burst death's 
bars and passed from under his dominion. Therefore Ave 
conclude that the word " with " when used with reference 
to Christ and those who are to have a place in the first 
resurrection, does not imply his actual personal presence 
with them, but it is to be understood in another and a dif- 
ferent sense. 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON— FOURTH SPEECH. 

There was only one objection advanced by my oppo- 
nent to any position I have taken. I have attempted to 
prove only two points, viz: that the King will be Jesus 
of Nazareth, and that the subjects will be the twelve tribes 
of Israel. All the testimony that has thus far been brought 
forward upon either side of this controversy demonstrates 
this truth. I wish now to call your attention to another 
point, to demonstrate that it is the literal kingdom of 



65 

Israel, and not a spiritual kingdom represented under that 
name — that it is a literal kingdom and not a spiritual 
church. Turn, if you please, to the prophecy of Ezekiel, 
21st chapter, 25th, 26th and 27th verses : 

" And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day 
is come, when iniquity shall have an end. Thus saith the- 
Lord God ; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown : ; 
this shall not he the same: exalt him that is low, and; 
abase hi in that is high. 

"I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall he. 
no more, until he come whose right it is ; and I will give 
it Mm? 

"I will overturn it,' 1 — the kingdom — "and it shallbfemo, 
more until he come whose right it is, and I will give it to,, 
him." Here we find predicted the restoration oi'the very 
same kingdom, which had passed through.. these subver- 
sions alluded to in the language immediately preceding- 
it. "I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be 
no more. It is to be no more until a certain event shall 
take place. Now,if it be true that this kingdom is to be sub- 
verted forever, why does the prophet of God here use the 
adverb "until?" That adverb "until" demonstrates to us 
that the same kingdom which was to be beyond a doubt 
overturned is to be restored,* and that then its subversion 
shall cease. The plain assertion of the Lord is not merely, I 
will overturn it, but also, J will give it to him whose right it 
is ; and until he come the kingdom shall be subverted and's 
no longer. Hence we see that the same kingdom ever 
which Zedekiah reigned — the same kingdom overturned 
by the Roman armies — the same kingdom that is. now, 
under the hand of. Gentile power shall be given to him who 
has a right to the possession* of that kingdom— the Lord 
Jesus Christ* 

How can that be if the kingdom here spoken of means, 
that church? Was the church overturned.? Was 
the church given to Christ on the day of Pentecost? To., 
restore anything is to, re-establish \ and bring back again, 
the same thing that had been destroyed or subverted. 
The church of God was not overturned but the kingdqin. 



66 

that was overturned was the literal kingdom of Israel, and 
that is the kingdom that is to be restored and given to 
Jesus Christ. Did Zedekiah reign over the church which 
was set up on the day of Pentecost? It was the literal 
kingdom of Israel which passed through these series of 
subversions ; it must therefore be the literal kingdom that 
will be given to Christ. He, and he alone lias a right to 
the literal kingdom of David. I have demonstrated by 
the mouth of the eternal God himself. I have proven by 
the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of Peter, and of Gabriel 
that Jesus of Nazareth is the rightful heir to Zedekiah'g 
kingdom. I have demonstrated it by two lines of geneal- 
ogy, running in parallel lines from David down through 
all the intervening generations, until we find them meet- 
ing in the Messiah, and have thus proven that he alone is 
of right entitled to sit upon " the throne of his father 
David." Does not this fully demonstrate the literal char- 
acter of this kingdom? 

We are told by the inspired prophets that when the 
twelve tribes of Israel shall be re-united into one nation. 
they shall never more be plucked up out of the land. They 
shall possess the land forever, and Christ shall reign over 
them. Now the kingdom of Christ is to continue for ever 
and ever. My opponent would have us believe that that 
kingdom must run co-extensive with a state of endless 
probation, and that his church kingdom shall increase by 
the process of conversion. As the kingdom, when once 
established is to continue forever and ever, as a natural 
consequence, and as a legitimate and unavoidable sequence 
from my opponent's own position, there will be a state of 
probation forever and a succession of conversions forever 
and ever. Does he admit that? If he does not, then his 
objection rests with equal force against his own position. 
This objection, whether applied to the church or the king- 
dom would prove endless probation. I will ask my oppo- 
nent if it is true that the increase of the church went on 
continuously after the day of Pentecost? Certainly not. 
Under Nero the church of God was reduced to a mere 
handful of men and women. Hence we see that the church 



67 

set up on the day of Pentecost was not the kingdom which 
was promised to Jesus Christ by all the holy prophets. 
The Apostles asked Christ a question expressive of their 
firm faith in the literal character of his kingdom : u Wilt 
thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Was it 
the church that they meant? Was the church then sub- 
verted ? No sincere inquire? after truth can fail to be 
convinced at a single glance that they referred to a literal 
kingdom — the kingdom that was at that time in a state of 
subversion — the kingdom of Israel restored. But what 
does Christ say to them in reply to this inquiry? He said 
to them: "It is not for you to know the times nor the sea- 
sons which the Father hath put in his own power. What 
times and seasons was it not their privilege to know? 
The times and seasons when the great event should occur 
in regard to which they had just inquired — the time when 
the kingdom should be restored to Israel, thus clearly in- 
timating that that time should come. If the kingdom is 
to be "restored" according to the plain teachings of the 
word of God, it will be that kingdom which before existed, 
for no kingdom can be restored except that which before 
existed, and which was for the time being subverted or 
" overturned." 

But my opponent says David never had a throne. 
Isaiah disagrees with him, for he says, in relation, to the 
Messiah, that "of the increase of his government and 
peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David" 
And the angel Gabriel, when he appeared to the Virgin 
Mary, said to her, " and the Lord God shall give unto him 
the throne of his father David." Where is the propriety 
of this language, if "David's throne" had never existed — 
if David, as my opponent declares, never had a throne ? 
It is impossible to reconcile or harmonize the teachings 
of the word of God upon any other hypothesis than that 
Jesus Christ is to be a literal king upon a literal throne — 
the throne of David. The original words rendered throne 
in Hebrew and Greek denote regal power and glory. 

I now call your attention to the third element of the 
kingdom of God— the territory of the kingdom. I shall 



as 

refer to only a few texts in support of my position upon 
this point. All the texts advanced by my opponent I am 
ready to adopt as my own, and to stand or fall by them, 
for I know that the truth of God cannot contradict itself 
when.we interpret it aright. In the territory promised by 
the Almighty to Abraham "for an everlasting covenant,' 7 
we have the first view of the territory of the kingdom of 
Jesus Christ. In the 2d Chapter of Daniel, where the 
kingdom is represented under the figure of a stone, which 
became a great mountain and filled the whole earth, we 
have the same thing again presented to our minds. If 
the kingdom is not to grow how can it be appropriately 
represented by a stone growing until it fills the whole 
world? In accordance with this is the language of the 
7th Chapter of Daniel, where it is said that "there was 
given to him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations and lctnguages should serve him." Where 
is that kingdom to be located? All nations, and people, 
and tongues are to be subject unto it. The whole earth 
is to be its domain. " And the kingdom and dominion, 
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven 
shall be given to the Saints of the Most High, whose king- 
dom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall 
serve and obey him." The prayer which Christ taught his 
disciples affords another proof of the locality of the king- 
dom of Jesus Christ. He taught them to say, "Thy king- 
dom come." The kingdom is to come to us, we are not to 
go to it. 

There are two ways, and only two, of possessing a king- 
dom. One is by legitimate heirship, the other by con- 
quest. Jesus Christ, being the son of David, shall inherit 
David's throne. And having, as I think, clearly demon- 
strated the truth that Jesus Christ shall sit upon David's 
throne, which is his by legitimate inheritance, let me ask 
this great and vitally important question : " Will 1 he Lord 
Jesus Christ govern this kingdom alone ?" He will pre- 
sent an anomaly to all other rulers, if he does. His king- 
dom will be an exception to all the other kingdoms that 
have ever existed on the face of the earth, if he does. It 



■will be without example and without precedent. No, my 
friends, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he shall sit on the 
throne of his kingdom, will not rule that kingdom alone. 
He will have a royal cabinet that shall share with him the 
duties of government and the administration of the laws. 
I am sorry that every member of the Disciple Church is 
not here to-day to hear the glorious truth that God has re- 
vealed in his word to them that will understand it aright 
— that Christ's believing followers are to reign with him. 
Hence our Savior says to his disciples: "It is your 
Father's good pleasure to give to you the kingdom" Now 
for the proof in the case. 

Let me call your attention first to the language of 
Christ when the mother of Zebedee's children came to 
him and asked, as a special favor, that her two sons might 
sit, one on his right hand and the other on his left, when 
he should sit upon the throne of his kingdom. Jesus said : 
" Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and 
to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" 
They said unto him: "We are able." Then said Jesus 
unto them : " Ye shall indeed drink of my cup," &c, " but 
to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, 
but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of 
my Father." Thus Christ himself admitted that the Father 
had reserved positions and places of honor in his kingdom 
for those whom he deemed worthy of such distinction. 
This is from Matthew, 20th chapter, 20th, 21st, 22d, and 
23d verses. And again we read that upon another occa- 
sion Christ, in answer to a question asked by Peter, said : 
" Ye that have followed me, in the regeneration when the 
son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also 
shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel." Matthew, 19th chapter and 28th verse. Just so 
sure as Christ shall sit upon his throne — the throne of 
David, and rule over the twelve tribes of Israel— just so 
sure shall his twelve apostles also sit upon twelve thrones 
and share with him the glory of his kingdom. 

Turn now to the 2d chapter of Paul's second letter to 
Timothy, and at the 12th verse we shall find Timothy 



70 

brought in as a connecting link between the disciples of 
our Lord and us. Timothy, also, is to reign with Christ. 
Says Paul : " If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." 
Mark the language. Paul does not tell Timothy that if 
we suffer we shall be subjects of his kingdom merely, or 
that we shall have the privilege of being reigned over by 
Christ, but he says " we shall reign with him." How shall 
we understand this passage of the Word of God ? It must 
be taken either figuratively or literally. If one part is 
taken literally all must be so taken. If one partis inter- 
preted figuratively all must be interpreted in like man- 
ner. Which will you do ? Will you make the suffering 
here spoken of literal? If you do, then you must yield the 
point that the reign with Christ is also literal. You can 
not, by any rule of interpretation, make one literal and 
the other figurative. The saints shall reign, therefore, 
just as truly and as literally as Christ himself shall reign. 
The word reign, in Greek, signifies royalty. Do subjects 
share the royalty of their king? Do subjects reign? Do 
the subjects of Queen Victoria reign with her? To as- 
sert such a thing would be to ignore the true import of 
all language. 

Turn, now, to the 2d chapter of Revelations, 26th and 
27th verses. There Christ says to the church : "And he 
that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to 
him will I give power over the nations ; and he shall rule 
them with a rod of iron ; as a vessels of the potter shall 
they be broken to shivers; even as I received of mv 
Father." 

Let us go back now to the origin of Christ's original 
title to the throne, and ask on what conditions Christ is 
authorized to break in pieces the rebellious nations of 
the world. You will find it in the 2d Psalm, 7th, 8th and 
9th verses : " I will declare the decree : The Lord hath 
said unto me, Thou art my son ; this day have I begotten 
thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for 
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of 
iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 



71 

But on what conditions ? Listen again. You will lind 
in close connection the following language : 

" Be wise now therefore, O ye kings ; be instructed, ye 
judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and re- 
joice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and 
and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled 
but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in 
him." 

If the great kings and potentates of the world shall 
heed the voice of God what shall follow? "Blessed are 
all they that put their trust in him." Hence we see that 
Christ has the right to rule the nations of the earth, and 
that he will share that right with his believing followers, 
we are assured from the language already quoted from 
Revelations, 2d chapter, 26th and 27th verses : 

" And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto 
the end, to him will I give power over nations ; And he 
shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a pot- 
ter shall they be broken to shivers ; even as 1 received of 
my Father." 

Let us now go to the 5th chapter of Revelations and 
see what evidence there is contained in it upon the sub- 
ject of the saints of God reigning with Christ when he 
shall possess the kingdom. I now bring before you a 
great multitude of witnesses, and witnesses too who will 
be believed. My opponent himself will agree with me 
that the redeemed host of God's elect cannot be mistaken 
in regard to the things whereof they speak. 

" And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not : be- 
hold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, 
hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven 
seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the 
elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven 
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God 
sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the 
book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the 
throne. And when he had taken the book, the four 
beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the 
Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials 



72 

full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they 
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the 
book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, 
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every 
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; And hast 
made us unto our God kings and priests ; and we shall 
reign on the earth." 

Do these saints of God speak the truth ? If they do„ 
then they are to reign, and if they are to reign then the 
earth will be the locality of their kingdom and reign ; for 
" we shall reign in the earth." No stronger, plainer, or 
more pointed language can be found in the book of God 
than this, to prove that Christ will reign. 

Turn now to the 20th chapter of Eevelations and read 
the language of the 4th verse. Thrones are here seen 
looming up in the future. 

"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judg- 
ment was given unto them ; and I saw the souls of them 
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the 
word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, 
neither his image, neither had received his mark upon 
their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years." 

A pronoun is used in order to avoid the repetition of a 
noun. The antecedent always goes before its pronoun. 
In this verse the saints of the most High God are the 
antecedent to which the first pronoun ' they' refers : " they 
sat upon thrones." Who sat upon these thrones? Not the 
" souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of 
Jesus," for they had not yet been mentioned and could 
not therefore be the antecedent of the pronoun they. 

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrec- 
tion. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, 
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall 
reign with him a thousand years." 

We see at a glance that the saints of the most High 
God will not only enjoy the privilege of reigning with 



73 

Christ as joint emperors of the world, but that they will 
occupy the same position that he does, and thus Christ 
while he will share the dominion as other rulers have 
done — will at the same time have a different cabinet from 
any other kingdom that ever existed ; a royal cabinet — a 
kingly cabinet. The poorest Christian that walks the 
earth is a prince in disguise. This glory — this royalty is 
to be given to all the saints of the most High God. 

Turn now to the 7th chapter of Daniel. One of the 
best Hebrew scholars in the United States declares that 
the words " Ancient of Days," used in the 9th and 13th 
verses of this chapter, may quite as appropriately and 
properly be applied to the angels of God who shouted 
aloud for joy when the foundations of the earth were 
laid, as to God the Father. The meaning, therefore, 
plainly is that the Lord Jesus Christ comes at the time 
here spoken of to these ancient ones, and there is given 
unto him dominion and glory and a kingdom, etc. Evi- 
dently, the kingdom and dominion referred 1o here is tire 
kingdom of Israel which shall be restored to Christ and 
the dominion which he shall exercise over the nations of 
earth. 

Turn to the 27th verse of the same chapter, and you 
will find the same promise made to all the saints of the 
Most High, which had, at the 13th and 14th verses, been 
made to Christ. 

"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of 
the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to 
the people of the saints of the Most High, whose king- 
dom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall 
serve and obey him." 



74 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL— FIFTH SPEECH. 

Second Day, Monday, October 1, 1866. 

I shall call attention first to the position assumed by 
my opponent on Saturday, with reference to the Adamic 
charter of dominion. This requires, however, no argu- 
ment upon my part inasmuch as the point was surren- 
dered by my opponent by the admission which he made 
that Adam had forfeited all right to dominion by his 
transgression. It need not be followed any further. 

In the next place I call your attention to the two dis- 
tinct promises made to Abraham, to whom was given the 
distinguishing honor of standing before the world in all 
coining time as the head and representative of the faith- 
ful. The one promise was the promise of the Messiah 
and of the proffer of salvation through him to a dying- 
world — the other was the promise to Abraham and his 
descendants, of the possession of the land of Palestine 
with all its privileges and appurtenances. 

These are two distinct and separate matters. The first, 
embodying the promise of the Messiah, found in Genesis, 
12th chapter, 1st and 3d verses inclusive, is in this form : 

"Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get the out of thy 
country, and from thy kindred, and thy father's house, 
unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of 
thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy 
name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will 
bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth 
thee : and in thee shall all families of the earth be 
blessed." 

Mark the important idea that is here embodied in the 
simple expression. "In thee shall all the families of the 
earth be blessed." 

The next passage that Ave invite your attention to is 
Genesis, 15th chapter and 17th verse : 

"And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down. 
and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning 
lamp that passed between those pieces." 



Connect this with Genesis, 17th chapter, from the 1st to 
the 14th verses inclusive : 

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the 
Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the 
Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect. 
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and 
will multiply thee accordingly. And Abram fell on his 
face, and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold 
my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of 
many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be 
called Abram, but thy name shall be xVbraham; for a 
father of many nations have I made thee. And I will 
make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of 
thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will estab- 
lish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed 
after thee in their generations for an everlasting cove- 
nant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the 
land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, 
for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God. 

"And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my 
covenant therefore, thou and thy seed after thee in their 
generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, 
between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man 
child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall 
circumcise the flesh of j T our foreskin ; and it shall be a 
token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that 
is eight days old shall be circumcised among jou, every 
man child in your generations, he that is born in the 
house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is 
not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he 
that is bought with thy money, must needs be circum- 
cised : and my covenant shall be in your flesh, an ever- 
lasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child 
whose flesh of his foreskin is not. circumcised, that soul 
shall be cut off from his people ; he hath broken my cov- 
enant." 

Observe that in one passage, Genesis, 12th chapter, 2d 
verse, the word "nation" is used, being the singular 



76 

number; while in the other passage, Genesis, 17th chap- 
ter, the word is used in the plural — " I will make nations 
of thee, and kings shall come out of thee." 

There are two thoughts that I wish to fasten just here; 
first, not a solitary male has any right to anything that is 
promised in this covenant recorded in the 17th chapter of 
Genesis, unless he is circumcised; secondly, those who 
were thus circumcised, and no others, had the promise in 
this covenant of an earthly inheritance — the land of Pal- 
estine. And of this covenant of circumcision it was said 
in the 13th verse, " and my covenant shall be in your 
flesh for an everlasting covenant." 

Having said enough to bring out before your minds the 
idea of the two distinctive features of this covenant, I 
will reread the 11th verse : 

'* And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his 
foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut of from 
his people ; he hath broken my covenant." 

By the breach ot this covenant of circumcision there 
was a perpetual forfeiture of all its benelits. This lan- 
guage renders secure and permanent the truth that none 
but the circumcised have a right to an earthly inherit- 
ance by virtue of the promise made to Abraham at the 
time this covenant was made; while on the other hand, 
the other promise recorded in Genesis, 12th chapter, be- 
ing wholly spiritual in its character, was common to all 
coming generations, as shown by the language, "in thee 
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed." 

Connect this with the language found in Genesis, 26th 
chapter, commencing with the 1st verse and ending with 
the 4th verse : 

"And there was a famine in the land, beside the first 
famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac- 
went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 
And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go down into 
Egypt ; dwell in the land which I shall tell the of. So- 
journ in this land, and I will be with thee ; for unto thee, 
and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I 



will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy 
father ; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars 
of heaver., and will give unto thy seed all these coun- 
tries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth 
be blessed." 

Here Ave have allusion made to both of the promises 
made to Abraham, both of them being introduced and 
reiterated to Isaac ; but that is no proof that they are 
one. If you and I had lived neighbors twelve years ago, 
and had made two contracts, one to run ten years and 
the other fifteen, or any other time, we might meet to-day 
and talk about the two contracts in one and the same 
breath, and that would not prove them to be one and the 
same. Nor does the fact that we find the two separate 
and distinct promises made to Abraham spoken of in the 
same verse of the Bible, prove that those two promises 
are one and the same. 

Let us now go one step further. Turn to Genesis, 28th 
chapter, 12th and 14th verses inclusive : 

" And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the 
earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold 
the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, 
behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord 
God of Abraham thy father, and the God of I aac : the 
land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy 
seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth ; and 
thou shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and 
to the north, and to the south: and in the and in thy seed 
shall all the families of the earth be blessed." 

Here, likewise, both of the promises made to Abraham 
are repeated. Observe, however, that while here in one 
place, where reference is made to a temporal inheritance, 
the word " seed" is used, plural, meaning multiplicity of 
individuals ; whilst in the other place, where the promise 
of the Messiah is alluded to, it is " seed," singular. This 
is the true sense of the original. 

Mark in the nest place that the first promise recorded 
in Genesis 12th chapter, was made to Abraham in the 76th 
year of his age— the other in the 99th year of his age-— 



there being therefore 23 years difference in the date of 
these two transactions. Not only this, but there are also 
different matters embodied in the two which furnishes 
ntill another evidence of the fact that the two promise? 
are wholly distinct one from the other. One was a pro- 
mise of the whole land of Palestine, the other was a pro- 
mise that through Abraham and his seed should all the 
families of the earth be blessed. One was connected with 
the ordinance of circumcision — the other had no refer- 
ence to it. The meaning of one was limited by and con- 
fined to something called "nation " (and by and by we 
(ind out what it is,) while the other asserts that nation? 
should come from him. 

Go with me now to Galatians 3d chapter, 8th and 9th 
verses. 

" And the scripture, forseeing that God would justify 
the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel 
unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful 
Abraham." 

Here we lind that that which is called ,l the gospel 
preached to Abraham," was the identical thing recorded 
in the 12th chapter of Genesis. Mark this passage. Not a 
word is said about the promise of a temporal inheritance 
— not a word about a farm — not a word about the land of 
Palestine ; but the one great thought towers above all 
others in this passage — the thought of the spiritual prom- 
ise made to Abraham: "In thee and in thy seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blessed." 

Look, if you please, at the Acts of the Apostles. 13th 
chapter, 32d and 33d verses : 

"And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the 
promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath ful- 
filled the same unto us their children, in that he hath 
raised up Jesus again ; as it is also Avritten in the second 
psalm< Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." 

What have we here ? Simply this thought — that the 
very promise God made unto the fathers he had fulfilled 
in the resurrection of his Son from the dead. Keep be- 



79 

fore your minds the radical difference there is between 
the two promises, in whatever point of view we contem- 
plate them ; and not only so, but observe also that here 
we have one of those promises fulfilled. So says the un- 
erring voice of Inspiration. But read on a little further 
in this same place : 

''And as concerning that he raised him up from the 
dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this 
wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Where- 
fore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer 
thine Holy One to see corruption. Tor David, after be had 
served his own generation by the will of God, fell on 
sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption : 
But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. 

u Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, 
that through this man is preached unto you the forgive- 
ness of sins : " 

Here we have in the most positive terms the declara- 
tion of the fulfillment of the promise made in Genesis, 
12th chapter, in the resurrection of God's Son from the 
dead. 

We now call attention to Galatians, 3d chapter, lGth and 
19th verses, inclusive : 

" Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises 
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; but as of 
one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, 
That the covenant that was confirmed before of God in 
( hrist, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years 
after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of 
none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no 
more of the promise : but God gave it to Abraham by 
promise. Wherefore then serveth the law ? It was added 
because of transgressions, till the seed should come to 
whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by an- 
gels in the hand of a mediator." 

Here we have this great promise made to Abraham, 
that "in his seed should all the nations of the earth be 
blessed," confined and bound down by the voice of the 
Eternal himself to one single individual, the Lord Jesus 



so 

Christ. Take this in connection with the Sth and 9th 
verses : 

"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify 
the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel 
unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be 
blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with 
faithful Abraham." 

This same chapter informs us what the blessing of 
Abraham is, for we are told in the 9th verse that "they 
which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." 
And again, in the 14th verse, " That the blessing of Abra- 
ham might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, 
that we might receive the promise of the spirit through 
faith." Read the 16th and 20th verses, inclusive : 

"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises 
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; but as of 
one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, 
That the covenant that was confirmed before of God in 
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years 
after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of 
none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no 
more of the promise : but God gave it to Abraham by 
promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added 
because of transgressions, till the seed should come to 
whom the promise was made ; and it was ordained by an- 
gels in the hand of a mediator. Now, a mediator is not a 
mediator of one ; but God is one." 

Pass on now to the 22d verse : 

" But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that 
the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to 
them that believe." - 

Here we have the promise confined exclusively to be- 
lievers. Read on still further : 

"But before faith came, we were kept under the law, 
shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be re- 
vealed. Wherefore the law was our school-master to 
bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a 
school-master. For ye are all the children of God by 



81 

faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been 
baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither 
Jew nor Greek, thefe is neither bond nor free, there is 
neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ 
Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's 
seed, and heirs according to the promise." 

Mark that the Apostle, throughout all of this sublime 
argument, is talking about the one promise embodied in 
these words: "In thee and in thy seed shall all the fami- 
lies of the earth be blessed." He has declared this prom- 
ise to be of a spiritual character — this blessing to be of a 
spiritual, and not of a fleshly nature. In short, he shows 
us clearly and indisputably that it is no more and no less 
than justification by faith. 

Look, if you please, upon the other hand ; and every 
time that you find the covenant of circumcision men- 
tioned, the idea of the possession of the land of Palestine, 
as a temporal inheritance, is closely connected with it; 
whereas, we have seen that whenever the other promise 
is spoken of, it is connected by the context with the idea 
of spiritual blessing. 

Let me here call your attention to one other very im- 
portant question. Has the promise of the Eternal that 
Abraham's seed should possess the land of Palestine, 
been positively fulfilled or not? Just .upon this point 
much of this important issue turns. We call your atten- 
tion to the proof that every word of this promise has pos- 
itively been fulfilled in times long past. Turn to Joshua, 
24th chapter, 13th verse : 

" And I have given you a land for which ye did not la- 
bor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; 
of the vineyards and olive-yards which ye planted not do 
ye eat." 

Take this in connection with the 23d chapter and 13tli 
verse : 

" Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no 
more drive out any of these nations from before you : but 
they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in 
your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from 



off this good land which the Lord your God hath given 
you." 

Here we may with perfect confidence rest this question 
on the testimony of these two witnesses. My first wit- 
ness says positively that the Lord has given them the 
land for which they did not labor, and has so given it to 
them that they positively have possession of it. And that 
is not all. He tells them, moreover, that the Lord has 
given them cities which they builded not, and they dwelt 
in them, and that they ale of oliveyards and vineyards, 
which they planted not. 

Notice the language of my first witness, found in the 
14th verse of the preceding chapter. It is the language 
of Joshua, who took Moses' place and led the Hebrews 
into Palestine, the land promised by the Eternal to (heir 
fathers. In his dying address to the people he says : " Yo 
know in all your hearts and in all your souls." Could 
language more forcible be used by any human being'? 
Know what? "That not one thing hath failed of all the 
good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning 
you — all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing 
hath failed thereof." Mark the 'word "all." "All are 
come to pass." Here, then, we are reduced to this di- 
lemma: either Joshua is a false witness, or that promise 
made to Abrahani in the covenant of circumcision was 
entirely fulfilled to the letter. The land was given to 
them, and thus God's veracity stands unimpeachable for- 
ever, although the Hebrew nation, after entering into the 
enjoyment of their promised possessions, ma}-, by a breach 
of their covenant, have expatriated themselves and been 
everlastingly driven therefrom. The promise of Jehovah's 
had been fulfilled to the very letter. 

We have, then, first the wide contrast there is between 
the two promises — the one embodying the Messiah, the 
other embodying the promise of the land of Palestine. 
the latter of which Joshua declares to have been already 
fulfilled to the very letter. He says that not one jot nor 
one tittle of all the promises has been left unredeemed. 
And hence, as a natural consequence, there is nothing 



83 

left to be redeemed in the future. If the Hebrew race 
has forfeited its inheritance, that is their own fault, and 
they must eat the fruit of their own doings. 

One thought more, and that is this: There is not a 
solitary promise of the restoration of the old house of 
Israel, from the beginning of the Word of God to the end, 
but was made prior to their return from the Babylonish 
captivity, and found its fulfilment in that return and re- 
storation. Not one of Israel's old prophets ever uttered 
a prediction concerning the return of the Hebrew nation 
on this side, in point of time, of the rebuilding of Jerusa- 
lem and her temple, under the edict of Cyrus, and con- 
firmed after his death by his successor. And this one fact 
tells more than volumes, upon this important question 
before us at this time. It is an index pointing, with the 
the unerring certainty of absolute truth, to the one great 
idea, that these promises, one and all, had a reference to 
the coming up of that people out of Babylon, and that 
they, one and all, found their complete and entire fulfil- 
ment there. From that time on, there is no promise what- 
ever that the literal house of Israel will ever be returned 
again to their own land. Thus throwing in a most posi- 
tive denial right here that from that time on any promise 
whatever was made that the literal house of Israel would 
ever be returned to their own land. In our next speech 
we shall show reasons therefor. For in making this de- 
claration we know whereof we affirm. 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON.— FIFTH SPEECH. 

The first point that I shall notice in my opponent's ar- 
gument has reference to Abraham and his seed having 
an everlasting inheritance in the land of Canaan. I will 
take no issue with him, however, until I have read the 
17th chapter of Genesis, and 7th and 8th verses : " And I 
will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy 



84 

seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting- 
covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after 
thee. And 1 will give unto thee, and to thy seed after 
thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of 
Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their 
God." My opponent says the covenant here alluded to 
had no reference whatever to a landed estate. Let us 
turn and read the 18th verse of the 15th chapter of Gene- 
sis, where it is first mentioned, and see whether that be 
true or not: "In the same day the Lord made a covenant 
with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this 
land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Eu- 
phrates." "And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot 
was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look 
from the place where thou art northward, and southward, 
and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou 
seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." 
Genesis xiii: 14, 15. When God made this covenant 
with Abraham, he said he would give him "this land;" 
and if Mr. Russell's position is true, then the Almighty 
must have made a great mistake. Whom shall we be- 
lieve, Mr. Russell or the great God? Judge ye. 

Let us now see whether the covenant alluded to in the 
17th chapter of Genesis included land or not. Read the 
8th verse of that chapter : " And I will give unto thee, and 
to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, 
all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and 
I will be their God." My opponent says that the promise 
related to the covenant of circumcision. In the proof 
text that he quoted from the 26th chapter of Genesis, no- 
thing is said about circumcision. In the long talk with 
Jacob, in the 28th chapter of Genesis, nothing is said 
about circumcision. In the 3d verse of the 26th chapter 
the Lord tells Isaac that he will "perform the oath" 
which he sware unto Abraham, his father. And in the 
5th verse he gives the reason why he was going to give 
to Isaac and Abraham's seed the land of Canaan, in these 
words: "Because that Abrah/im obeyed my voice and 
kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and 



S5 

my laws." That was why the Lord was going to do all 
this for Abraham's seed. Nothing- is said about circum- 
cision. The Almighty said to Jacob: "The land whereon 
thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And 
thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt 
spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the 
north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall 
all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I 
am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither 
thou gocst, and will bring thee again into this land ; for I 
will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have 
spoken to thee of." Genesis xxviii: 14, 15. You see that 
my friend Russell's own witnesses are againsl him. No- 
thing is said here except about a landed estate. If this 
evidence is not enough to make out a valid title to land, 
then it is impossible to make a valid deed of conveyance. 

While we are in the Old Testament, I will call atten- 
tion to the proofs by which my opponent seeks to show 
the fulfilment of these promises in times past. Turn to 
Joshua, 24th chapter, 18th verse — which is one of the 
texts he quoted: 

"And I have given you a land for which ye did not 
labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them ; 
of the vineyards and olive-yards which ye planted not do 
ye eat." 

Here nothing is said about the fulfillment of any pro- 
mise made to Abraham or to Isaac, or to Jacob ; but he 
also quotes from the 24th chapter and 14th and 15th 
verses. 

' Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sin- 
cerity and in truth ; and put away the gods which your 
fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; 
and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to 
serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve; 
whether the gods which your fathers served that were on 
the other side of the flood, or the Gods of the Amoritee, 
in whose land ye dwell ; but as for me and my house, we 
will serve the Lord." 

His second witness contradicts his first, if we adopt 



SG 

his explanation of the meaning of these passages of scrip- 
ture. His second witness controverts the very points 
which he is trying to establish. Does it follow that be- 
cause the Lord God had brought the children of Israel up 
out of the land of Egypt, and had given them cities which 
they builded not, and vineyards which they planted not, 
and had made them to possess the gates of their enemies, 
that therefore he had already fulfilled all his promises 
made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ? The very passage 
of scripture last adduced by my opponent shows that he 
had not. He proved that in case of their disobedience 
the Lord would drive them out of that land. It was not 
yet given to them for an everlasting inheritance. The 
promise of God to Abraham was not yet fulfilled. To 
prove that the children of Israel temporarily possessed 
the land, and to prove that that land was given to them 
as an everlasting inheritance are two wholly distinct and 
different things. He had proven one and that one we 
have always been ready to admit, but the other he has 
not proven nor can he. 

I was somewhat amused at one point by my opponent's 
ingenuity ; why did he when reading from the 3d chapter 
of Galatians, leave off at the 16th verse? He said there 
was no landed estate expressed in the allusion here made 
to the promise made to Abraham. It is admitted ; but let 
us see if God will fulfill his promises or not. We have 
seen that he stands pledged to give to Abraham and his 
seed an everlasting possession in the land. He could not 
have given them that " everlasting" inheritance in time 
past. That is out of the question. To give that everlast- 
ing inheritance which he has promised will require the 
endless ages of eternity. 

I will call your attention now to a text adduced by my 
opponent, viz : the last two verses of the 3d chapter of 
Acts. 

" Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the cove- 
nant which God made with our fathers, saying unto A lira- 
ham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth 
be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son 



Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every omw 
Of you from his iniquities." 

It does not follow that because these persons addressed 
by Peter were the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 
that therefore the blessing they were experiencing was the 
fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham that their 
seed should inherit the land forever. There is no connec- 
tion between the two — God does not say he has fulfilled 
those promises — and he has not. The question therefore 
stands thus — will God fulfill his promise made to Abra- 
ham ( If not then the Great God of truth will prove false 
to his word — unless he shall j^t give to Abraham's seed 
an everlasting inheritance in the land of Palestine. 

I will now notice the 7th chapter of the Acts of the 
Apostles, contained in the dying testimony of Stephen- 
Stephen in his defense before the Jewish tribunal, gives 
an account of God's dealings with Abraham and his pos- 
terity. What does he say in the 4th verse ? 

"Then came he (Abraham) out of the land of the Chal- 
deans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his 
father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein 
ye now dwell." 

Observe the language, " this land wherein ye now 
dwell/' Read on — "And he gave him none inheritance 
in it, not so much as to set his foot on ; yet he promised 
that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his 
*eed after him, when as yet he had no child." 

If Stephen does not here teach us that the promise 
made by God to Abraham was that of a landed estate, 
what language could convey such an idea ? He says God 
brought Abraham into this land and he gave him none 
inheritance in it; yet he promised that he would give it 
to him and his seed. Thus teaching that the promise had 
not been fulfilled. God did not give to Abraham or to 
his seed an everlasting possession of that land ; yet he 
promised that he would do so. Stephen meant by the 
language he used, one of two things — either he meant 
that God had made to Abranam a promise that he never 



intended to perform, or else he understood that that pre- . 
mise was yet to Le performed in the future. 

Turn now to Hebrews lltli chapter and 8th. verse. Here 
Paul in tracing the origin of the Gospel, goes back to 
God's call to Abraham. 

" By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into 
a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, 
obeyed ; and he went out, not knowing whither he went/' 

In the next verse we are told that Abraham dwelt in 
tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of 
the same promise. Here he brings them out into the land 
of promise. Paul calls itjthe land of Promise. 

"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a 
strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and 
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.'' 

A land of promise is one thing and a land of possession 
is quite another. Abraham dwelt with Isaac and Jacob, 
the heirs with him of the same promise. An heir is not 
a possessor but an expectant of a future possession. And 
Ihey all died in faith, not having received the promised 
possession. 

Did Abraham Isaac and Jacob receive their possession 
before they died ? Read the loth verse of this same chap- 
ter, and on, including the 16th. 

"These all died in faith, not having received the pro- 
mises, but having seen them afar oil', and were persuaded 
of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they 
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that. 
say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 
And truly if they had been mindful of that country from 
whence they came out, they might have had opportunity 
to have returned. But now they desire a better country, 
that is, an heavenly ; wherefore God is not ashamed to be 
called their God ; for he hath prepared for them a city/' 

I will now call your attention to the continuation of the 
subject where I left it on Saturday. The first point to 
which I invite your attention is the nexT essential ele- 
ment of the kingdom. I h^'e proved to you that in tho 
kingdom of God there will be found to exist, at least four 



of the essential elements of all kingdoms — first a king — 
second, a royal cabinet, (composed of the saints of the 
Most High,) third, a territory (viz. the land of Canaan 
from the river of Egypt to the great river of Euphrates,) 
and fourth, subjects, (namely the literal twelve tribes of 
Israel restored.) 

I now propose to demonstrate that the kingdom of God 
will have another element of all kingdoms that have ever - 
existed upon earth ; namely, a metropolis. Turn if you 
please to the 2d chapter of Isaiah, and 4th chapter of 
Micah, where you will find Jerusalem presented to us as 
the metropolitan city of the kingdom of God. In the 4th 
chapter of Micah, and the first verse we find this lan- 
guage. 

"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the 
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above 
the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many na- 
tions shall come, and say, Come let us go up to the moun- 
tain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; 
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his 
paths ; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of 
the Lord from Jerusalem." 

My opponent has saved me the trouble of proving that 
the passages immediately preceding this prediction, has 
reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans 
thirty-eight years and more after the day of Pentecost. 

Having followed the narrative down to that point, the 
prophet then launches forth into the future, and tells us 
what shall come to pass "in the last days." It will not 
do to speak of this kingdom im-connection with 1 the day 
of Pentecost, for the prophet had already traced the his- 
tory of the Jewish nation down to the time when the 
Roman ploughshares were driven over the foundations of 
the temple, thirty-eight years after the day of Pentecost, 
and then-, using the future tense and speaking of things 
yet to come to pass, he tells us what shall come to pass 
in the last days. In like manner, Isaiah speaks of the 
establishment of the kingdom in the last days : 



90 

"The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning 
Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the 
last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall bo 
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be ex- 
alted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it." 

Unless you can make the future tense mean the past 
tense, you must understand the words "last days," to 
have reference not to the destruction of Jerusalem, but 
to the last days of the dispensation in which we live. 
Jerusalem upon Mount Zion is to be the metropolitan 
city of the world. Thus, and thus only, can Jerusalem 
be established in the top of Mount Zion, and thus only 
can all nations flow unto it. 

I will ask my opponent this plain question — was this 
the case on the day of Pentecost? Did all nations flow 
unto the mountain of the Lord's house on the day of 
Pentecost? To be sure we are told that there were pres- 
ent at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, men out of 
every nation under heaven; T>ut a few men out of 
nation and all nations are widely different things. Did 
they beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears 
into pruning hooks? and did the nations learn war no 
more? All this was to take place at the time mentioned 
by the prophet, and unless my opponent can make it ap- 
pear that all this was actually fuliilled on the day of Pen- 
tecost, then there is not the slightest possible reason to 
fix the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon that 
day. 

Again, I refer you to the language of our Savior: "Swear 
not at all ; neither by Heaven, for it is God's throne ; nor 
by the earth, for it is 'his -footstool ; nor by Jerusalem, for 
it is the city of the Great King? 

Turn, now, to Revelations, 21st and 22d. And just here 
I desire to meet another objection. My opponent (ells 
us that the holy city, the New Jerusalem, that John saw 
comedown from God out of Heaven, and that it was in 
Heaven before it came down. In reply to this, I would 
point Mm to the 12th chapter, where we find thai the 
great dragon is spoken of as being in Heaven; and to the 



91 

13th chapter, where the beast with seven heads and ten 
horns is also represented as being in Heaven. The wo- 
man clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, 
was represented as being in Heaven, and so, likewise, 
was Christ sitting upon his white horse, followed by the 
hosts of Heaven, and making war upon the beast, the 
false prophet and the kings of the earth, who are also 
represented as being in Heaven. Now, will my oppo- 
nent have us believe that these great beasts and dragons 
are to be transplanted beyond the starry skies, where 
God and his angels are? It is evident at first glance that 
such is not the fact. This is a figurative representation 
of what was to take place upon the earth, and is not to be 
understood as taking place in Heaven. Let us turn now, 
to the 21st chapter of Revelations, and there we find an- 
other figurative representation of what is to take plane 
upon the earth— of a city that is to be built upon the 
earth — and we are told that "the nations of them that 
are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of 
the earth bring their glory and honor into it."' Are these 
nations of the earth to scale the walls of Heaven in order 
to bring their glory and honor into the city of the Great 
King? But turn again to the 13th, 14th and loth verses 
of the 22d chapter: 

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, 
the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his com- 
mandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, 
and may enter in through the gates into the city. For 
without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and 
murderers, and idolaters, and Avhosoever loveth and 
maketh a lie." 

Here we find that while Christ and his saints are within 
the walls of this grand metropolitan city of the Great 
King, without are the nations of the earth with all their 
wickedness, their superstitions, their idolatry and their 
abominations. We learn moreover, from the same pas- 
sage, that those nations are yet in a mortal state, that 
they are diseased, and that there is within the city a rem- 
edy for all their diseases, (verse 1, chapter 22,) and that 



92 

to this remedy the obedient among the nations shall have 
access, while the rebellious and disobedient are left with- 
out to perish in their sins. 

In the next place the Kingdom of God, in common 
with all other kingdoms, will have a law. In the lan- 
guage of the Lord's prayer, we find a rec< gnitiori of the 
great truth that the will of God will be the suj reme law of 
the world. " Thy kingdom come, thy will I edone on earth 
as it is done in Heaven." The will of God, therefore, ia 
to be the supreme law of the Kingdom of God. We find 
the same truth presented in the 14th verse of the 22d 
chapter of Revelations : "Blessed are they who keep 
his commandments, that they may have right to the tree 
of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." 

See, also, Isaiah, 2d chapter, 1st to 5th a i 

I have now proved that the Kingdom of God will pos- 
sess the six essential elements of all kingdoms, namely : a 
king, subjects, a territory, a royal cabinet, a capita) and a 
law ; in fact, everything that belongs to a perfect kingdom. 
In all these respects, therefore, we may take the declara- 
tions of the word of God as refering to a literal kingdom 
to be establised on the earth. 

The next point that naturally presents itself to our 
minds is the time when this Kingdom of God shall be es- 
tablished. We have examined fully the nature of this 
Kingdom, and from the beginning of Genesis to I he end of 
Revelations we have found nothing in the word of God 
that, does not point clearly and unmistakeably to a literal 
kingdom, a literal king, a literal metropolis, a literal reign 
of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth, as King of Kings 
and Lord of Lords. You might as well attempt to snatch 
the sun from the solar system as to attempt to err.se from 
the declarations and promises of God's word the great 
central idea that runs through them all, of the establish- 
ment, in the future, of God's Kingdom on the earth, and 
the bringing back of this revolted world in allegiance bo 
God. 

Is this, then, a future, or is it a past event? I affirm 
that the kingdom promised to Jesus Christ by all the 



93 

prophet*, is a future event in this world's history. The 
first two witnesses that I shall bring before you in sup- 
port of this position, are the prophets of God— Isaiah and 
Mieah— who predicted, under prophetic inspiration, the 
establishment of the kingdom of God in a period of time 
called by them "the last days," which period of time was 
still future at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. 

"The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning 
Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the 
last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be 
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be ex- 
alted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us 
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the 
God of Jacob ; and lie will teach us of his ways, and we 
will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the 
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he 
shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many 
people: and they shall beat their swords into plough- 
shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall 
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn 
war any more. 

" O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the 
light of the Lord. 

"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the 
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above 
the hills ; and people shall flow unto it. And many na- 
tions shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the 
mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of 
Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk 
in his paths : for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the 
word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 

"And lie shall judge among many people, and rebuke 
strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords 
into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : 
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither 
shall they learn war any mor3. But they shall sit every 
man under his vine and under his fig-tree ; and none shall 



94 

make them afraid : for the mouth of the Lord of host* 
hath spoken it." 

The next testimony I shall advance is that of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, recorded in the 19th chapter of Matthew, 
and 28th verse : 

"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you. 
that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration 
when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, 
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel." 

You have been told by my opponent that Christ is even 
now upon his throne ; but I propose to prove to you the 
opposite. Turn with me to Revelations, 3d chapter and 
21st verse : 

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in 
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
with my Father in his throne." 

When will Christ receive his own throne ? Turn with 
me to Matthew, 25th chapter and 31st verse : 

" When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory." 

Notice the force of the adverb of time, " then." Then 
shall He sit upon the throne of nis glory, when he shall 
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him. 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL.— SIXTH SPEECH. 

I shall take up the thread of my argument at the point 
I had reached when I closed. We had found, in the first 
place, that the Hebrew nations had broken the covenant, 
and secondly, that in consequence thereof, they had ex- 
patriated themselves and had forfeited all right and title 
to the things promised in Genesis, 17th chapter. And 
here also we found the reason why Paul, in Hebrews, 8th 
chapter and 9th verse, represents the Lord as saying, "Be- 



95 

cause they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded 
tii em not," 

In connection with this language, let us take Matthew, 
21st chapter, 38th and 41st verses, inclusive : 

"But when the husbandman saw the son, they said 
among themselves, This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, 
and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught 
him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 
When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what 
will he do unto those husbandmen ? They say unto him, 
He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let 
out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall ren- 
der him the fruits in their seasons." 

One point I wish to fasten here, and that is this : that 
God's protection and government should be taken away 
from literal Israel because of their murdering his son, and 
should be given to another nation. Now if it was thus to 
be taken from literal Israel, after the flesh, and given to 
another nation which should render to the Lord their 
fruits in season, could the Jews — the nation of Israel after 
that thing was taken from it and given to another nation 
— be said truly to have it any longer ? If I or the gentle- 
man who has just preceded me, should say to one of you, 
"I will take away a certain thing from you and give it to 
another person who will do justice to it," I ask what 
would be the idea from that language ? Would the idea 
be that you were any longer to have the possession of 
that thing, or would it be that another person should pos- 
sess it? The fact of their becoming the murderers of the 
only begotten Son of God, furnished an all-sufficient rea- 
son for God's government and protection being taken 
away from them and being given to another nation which 
will render to him the fruits in their season. 

Go with me now to Jeremiah, 18th chapter, where we 
have an illustration of this important matter from the 
mouth of God himself. Head the first seventeen verses 
of that chapter : 

"The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, say- 



ing, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I 
-will cause thee to hear my words. 

"Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, 
he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that 
he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter : so 
he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the 
potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to 
me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this 
potter ? saitli the Lord. Behold, as the clay i* in the pot- 
ter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, C) house of Israel. 

"At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, 
and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down. 
and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have 
pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil 
(hat I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I 
shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a king- 
dom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, 
that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, 
wherewith I said I would benefit them. 

"Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and 
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the 
Lord ; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a de- 
vice against you : return ye now every one from his evil 
way, and make your ways and your doings good. And 
they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our 
own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of 
his evil heart. Therefore thus saitli the Lord ; Ask ye 
now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: 
the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. 

''Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh 
from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing 
waters that come from another place be forsaken ? Be- 
cause my people hath forgotten me, they have burned in- 
cense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble 
in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in 
a way not cast up; to make their land desolate, and a 
perpetual hissing; everyone that passeth thereby shall 
be astonished, and wag his head. I will scatter them as 
with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them 



the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity." 

Just here I ask this plain question: If in the time of 
their calamity He is going to show them the back and 
not the face, where will you find the time when He shall 
turn his face to them again ? You may go over all the 
face of the earth, search every land under the broad arch 
of Heaven, and wherever you find one solitary individual 
of the Hebrew race, he will tell you "This is the day of 
our calamity." Just so long as the Hebrew race are dis- 
persed abroad upon the face of the earth, it will be the 
day of their calamity, a sure indication of the perpetuity 
of God's judgments because of their iniquity. 

An important principle is involved just here, in this 
language, found in the 9th and 10th verses of this same 
chapter : 

"And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, 
and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it ; if it 
do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will 
repent of the good, wherewith I said 1 would benefit 
them." 

These words in their import span the entire arch of all 
time, and show clearly and in a strong light the simple 
truth, that if man, after entering into a covenant with his 
Maker, breaks that covenant, that breach brings his right 
to all the privileges and advantages growing out of that 
covenant to a perpetual end. 

In perfect keeping with this idea, you will find the lan- 
guage of Paul, in Romans, 9th chapter, where the Apostle 
is arguing the great thought of the rejection of the old 
house of Israel. In the 21st verse he calls up the very 
same idea expressed by Jeremiah in the 18th chapter of 
his prophecy, clothed in similar language, and making 
use of the identical figure there employed : 

"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the sarna 
lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto 
dishonor ? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to 
make his power known, endured with much longsuffering 
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : And that he 
might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels 
7 



98 

of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. Even 
us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of 
the Gentiles ? " 

In perfect keeping with this you will find the language 
of the Lord of Hosts, addressed to ancient Israel, as re- 
corded in Ezekiel, 16th chapter, 44th and succeeding 
verses. Go with me, and let us learn a lesson of truth 
from the lips of the ancient prophet. He is addressing 
ancient Israel : 

" Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this 
proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother so is her 
daughter. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth 
her husband and her children ; and thou art the sister of 
thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and their chil- 
dren: your mother was a Hifctite, and your father an 
Amorite. And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her 
daughters that dwell at thy left hand : and thy younger 
sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her 
daughters. Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, 
nor done after their abominations : but as if that were a 
very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in 
all thy ways. As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy 
sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast 
done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the in- 
iquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and 
abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, 
neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and 
needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomi- 
nation before me : therefore I took them away as I saw 
good. Neither hath Samaria committed half thy sins ; 
but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than 
they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations 
which thou hast done. Thou also, which hast judged thy 
sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast 
committed more abominable than they: they are more 
righteous than thou : yea, be thou confounded also, and 
bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters/' 

Mark, now, the language of the following verses, 53d 
and 54th : " When I shall bring again their captivity, the 



99 

captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity 
of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the 
captivity of thy captives in the midst of them, that thou 
mayest bear thine own shame, andmayest be confounded 
in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto 
them. 1 ' Head on a little further: "When thy sisters, 
Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former 
estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to 
their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall 
return to your former estate; for thy sister Sodom was 
not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride." 
Ezekiel xvi : 55, 58. 

Just here we pause to ask two or three questions. Upon 
the hypothesis that ancient Israel is to be literally re- 
stored, in what shape, and under what circumstances is 
she to come back? Right between Sodom, that ancient 
city of the plain, which was too polluted and vile to be 
suffered to remain upon the face of the earth by the 
Almighty, and ancient Samaria with all her pollutions. 
Sodom on Israel's right hand and Samaria on her left- 
like joined with like — with Sodom and Samaria as her 
right and left hand supporters — is ancient Israel to be 
restored. When Sodom, with her Sodomy, and Samaria, 
with her manifold iniquities upon her, shall be restored, 
then, and not till then, shall ancient Israel be restored. 

The Lord God of heaven and earth once decided in his 
own mind that the ancient Sodomites were too vile and 
abominable to live, and hence, with the besom of destruc- 
tion, he swept them from the face of the earth ; and is he 
going to change his mind now, and bring them up again 
and restore them again to the places they once occupied 
among the nations of the earth ? Their former estate was 
such a stench in the nostrils of the Eternal that he would 
not allow them even to exist upon his footstool. And yet, 
if he is not going to bring up the Sodomites and give 
them again a name and a place among the nations of the 
earth, no more is he going to restore Israel to her former 
position in their own land. And in perfect harmony with 
this view we find the language of Christ addressed to the 



100 

old house of Israel, in Matthew, 23d chapter and 38th verse. 
In the preceding verse he tells them what would have 
been the case if they had been willing to hear and re- 
ceive the truth; but they were disobedient and rejected 
the Messiah and his divine mission. And now what I 
Listen to the language of the 38th verse: But now "your 
house is left unto you desolate." And while thus we find 
this language of our Savior to be in perfect keeping with 
Kzekiel, 16th chapter, let us go to Malachi, the last chap- 
ter, and see what is there recorded. Read this chapter: 

u For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an 
oven; and all the proud — yea, and all that do wickedly — 
shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn 
them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them 
neither root nor branch. 

"But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of 
righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye 
shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall ; and ye 
Rhall tread down the wicked ; for they shall be ashes un- 
der the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, 
naith the Lord of hosts. 

"Remember, ye, the law of Moses my servant, which I 
commanded unto him in Horeb tor all Israel, with the 
statutes and judgments. 

"Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the 
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And 
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and 
the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and 
emite the earth with a curse." 

This remarkable prophetic language found its fulfilment 
at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and her tem- 
ple by the Roman army commanded by Vespasian and 
his son Titus. Look, for a moment, at the language before 
us: "The day cometh that shall burn as an oven." Jo- 
Rephus, in his account of the destruction of Jerusalem, 
tells us that when the Romans had succeeded in effecting 
an entrance into the city, and had made themselves mas- 
ters of all the rest of the city, the temple alone withstood 
their attacks, and there were gathered together an im- 



101 

mense multitude of men, women and children. Beneath 
the temple were subterranean passages, and into these, 
when at last the Romans forced their way into the temple^ 
the Jews crept by hundreds and by thousands. The Ro- 
mans set the temple on fire. Titus, the Roman general^ 
gave orders that the temple should be preserved ; but a 
Roman soldier threw a firebrand into the building. It sefc 
tire to the structure, and so intense was the heat of the 
conflagration that followed that even the gold and silver 
that were about the temple were melted, and ran down 
into a pool; and these subterranean passages, into which 
the Jews were crowded by thousands upon thousands,, 
were heated by the flames until they became indeed a 
very " oven." And thus was this remarkable prediction 
of the ancient prophet most signally fulfilled. 

We are told by the prophet further, that the wicked 
should be ashes under the soles of the feet ot the right- 
eous in the day that the Lord should do this. After the 
fires that consumed the city and temple of Jerusalem had 
gone out, we are told by the historian that the ashes of 
these rebel Jews were lying scattered about upon the 
surface of the ground. And thus another portion of thia 
remarkable prophecy found in the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem its full and complete fulfilment. Now, if the time 
when the righteous persons who are addressed in the 
language before us are to tread down the wicked, and 
when the wicked are ashes under their feet, is the time 
when Christ shall come again, as my opponent and his 
friends maintain, then the ashes of the wicked are to be 
taken up from the wreck of this dissolving earth as it 
passes away, and are to be scattered abroad over the face 
of the new earth ; and in that view of the case, I think it 
will puzzle my opponent to tell where they are going to 
get scrapers enough, or who is to handle them. 

The amount of the whole matter is simply this : The 
ancient Israelites have completely expatriated themselves 
by their wicked rebellion, and the Lord of hosts, in har- 
mony with the language I have read, regards them not ; 
and, regarding them not, as a natural consequence they 



102 

are not those who are to inherit the kingdom concerning; 
which we are now in controversy. 

Let us contemplate, for a moment, the idea of the iden- 
tity of the twelve tribes. I ask, in the apostolic writings 
and wherever they speak of Israel and of themselves as 
belonging to it, do they mean the literal Israel? or do 
they mean something else? Let us examine this ques- 
tion 1 . Go with me to James, 1st chapter, 1st and 2d verses: 
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to 
the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers 
temptations." 

Mark that James is here writing a letter to something, or 
to somebody, that he calls "the twelve tribes;" and, fur- 
ther, that the entire epistle, from the first word to the 
last, is evidently addressed to, and intended for, believ- 
ers in Christ. All believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
therefore, are called "the twelve tribes." Now, unless 
literal Israel did, at the time this letter was written, 
believe in Christ, then something else is alluded to by 
James under the name of "the twelve tribes which are 
scattered abroad." What is that something? Go with 
me to the Acts of the Apostles, 26th chapter, and 8th and 
7th verses: "And now I stand, and am judged f< r the 
hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto 
which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving Cod 
day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, 
King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews." Here we have 
presented to us an important thought. Paul is speaking 
to what he calls "the twelve tribes," 1 and who lie says 
are "instantly serving God day and night." Were the 
twelve tribes of literal Israel serving God day and night 
when they clamored for the blood of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ, crying, "Crucify him! crucify him! Away 
With him!" Were they serving God night and day when 
they were murdering the disciples and followers of the 
Savior? Were they serving God when they were do- 
ing despite to the spirit of grace? If they were not — 
and you and I know they were not — then one thing is 



103 

certain, and that is, James and Paul called one thing 
the twelve tribes and my opponent calls another by 
that name. My opponent speaks of twelve tribes that 
certainly were not serving God, either by day or by 
night; and Paul spoke of "twelve tribes" who were 
" instantly serving God, day and night." And James 
speaks of the twelve tribes in a similar manner. 

The position iD which my opponent places himself 
just here is just about the same as that of a man who 
should call the rebel States of this nation the "Union," 
and " my policy " the law of the land. The tribes of whom 
my opponent speaks were just as much in rebellion at 
the time Paul wrote these words as ever were these rebel 
States against the authority of our own country. Can any 
one hesitate for a moment to answer the question whether 
at that time these rebel Jews were " serving God, day and 
night?" Who were the people who were "serving God, 
day and night ?" You will find this people mentioned in 
the 9th chapter of Komans : 

"What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make 
his power known, endured with much longsuffering the 
vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : and that he might 
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of 
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, 
whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the 
Gentiles? As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my 
people, which were not my people ; and her "beloved, 
which was not beloved." 

In my next speech I will demonstrate that the word 
"people" is, in all such connections as that before us, a 
synonym of the word nation. 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON— SIXTH SPEECH. 

Before resuming the thread of my argument upon this 
question, I shall briefly and hastily sketch something like 
a reply to some of the positions assumed by my oppo- 
nent. 



104 

He says that Israel is not to be restored until Sodom 
and Samaria shall be restored. Now, the Bible teaches 
us that the nations of the earth shall all be restored. 
Turn to the 22d Psalm and read the 27th verse : 

"All the ends of the world shall remember and turn 
unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall 
worship before thee." 

Here the whole earth is spoken of as turning unto the 
Lord and worshiping before him. I accept, therefore, the 
issue tendered by my opponent upon this point. 

I call attention, in the next place, to the issue he pre- 
sents in reference to the restoration of Israel. Turn to 
the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, commencing with the 21st 
verse, and what have we here ? 

"And say unto them, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, 
I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, 
whither they be gone, and will gather them on even* side, 
and bring them into their own land : and I will make them 
one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel ; and 
one king shall be king to them all : aud they shall be no 
more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two 
kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile them* 
selves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable 
things, nor with any of their transgressions : but I will 
save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they 
have sinned, and will cleanse them : so shall they be my 
people, and I will be their God." 

The last rebel will be taken out of Israel before the 
Lord God shall acknowledge her again as his people. 
They shall be tried as gold is tried in the fire — all the re- 
bellious and the disobedient are to be purged away, and 
as for the remainder, we are told in Ezekiel 87th chapter 
and 21st and following verses, that the children of Israel 
shall be gathered together upon the mountains of Israel 
and made into one nation, having one king, that they shall 
be cleansed, and that they shall be God's people and that 
he will be their God. Observe two or three points in- 
cluded in this prophecy: First, the two houses of Israel 
and Judah shall be united into one house, and the two 



105 

nations into one nation, and they shall be planted together 
in the land, never again to be separated. In the next 
place, as to their condition. It is not to be spiritual, for 
God says he will gather them from among the heathen, 
whither they are gone, and bring them into their own 
land, and that he will cleanse them from their idols, and 
so on. Again, when Israel shall be thus gathered in on 
every side from among the nations, whither they had gone, 
and when they should be cleansed from their idolatry, 
they were to be greatly multiplied and increased — they 
were to have children and children's children, and God's 
covenant and his tabernacle were to be with them forever. 
All these circumstances go to show plainly that the refer- 
ence to this future happy state of things that should come 
to pass was to a literal restoration of the literal kingdom 
of Israel, and not to a spiritual church. 

The very same people that rejected Christ at his first 
advent will accept him at his second. God will grant 
them the spirit of grace, and they will say, " Blessed is 
he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Turn to the 
concluding verse of the 13th chapter of Luke, and read 
there what the Savior said in regard to his reception 
when he shall come again, by those who rejected and 
scorned him when he was upon the earth: 

" Ye shall not see me until ye shall say, Blessed is he 
that cometh in the name of the Lord." 

Turn again to the 11th chapter of Komans, and 15th 
verse : 

" For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of 
the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life 
from the dead ? " 

Look again at the 25th verse of this same chapter, 
where the apostle says : 

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant 
of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in .your own con-, 
ceits ; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until 
the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." 

Notice the use of the adverb "until" in this passage — 
an adverb that always limits a period of time past, and 



106 

dates the beginning of a new epoch — "until" the fulness 
of the Gentiles be come in. Observe now the language 
of the next verse : 

"And so all Israel shall be saved: ;is it is written, There 
shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob. 7 ' 

Go to the 14th Psalm and read the last verse : 

"Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come cut of 
Zion ! When the Lord bringeth .back the captivity of his 
people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad." 

My opponent referred to the first chapter of James ami 
had something to say as to what James meant by the 
words, " tw T elve tribes." He also quoted from Sfc Paul to 
the same effect. Now, it is an undeniable truth that at 
that very time, before and since the twelve literal tribes 
of Israel were serving God day and night, after their 
ritual, a part used by synecdoche for the whole. 

I now call your attention to the continuation of the 
subject where I left off. When my time expired I was in 
the very act of proving that the kingdom promised to 
Christ by all the prophets, would be established at his 
second advent, in connection with the resurrection of the 
dead; and the last text I quoted was one having refer- 
ence to the corning of our Lord Jesus ( Ihrist in the glory 
of the Father, and with the holy angels; when, having 
been seated upon the throne of his glory, with all the 
nations standing in arra} r before him, he separates the 
righteous from the wicked, and invites the blessed of the 
Father to come and inherit the kingdom prepared for 
them from the foundation of the world. Were all these 
things fulfilled on the day of Pentecost? Did Christ 
come on that day in the Glory of the Father and the holy 
angels ? Did all nations stand before him ( Was he then 
seated on the throne of this world? Were the righteous 
separated from the wicked then '. Did he then invite the 
blessed of the Father to come and inherit the kingdom 
prepared for them from the foundation of the world? 
No. Go right back to the original charter of man's do- 
minion, and you will find that the dominion and sover- 



107 

Bignty of the whole earth is (he dominion that was pre- 
pared for him. Did he receive the dominion and sove- 
reignty of the whole earth on the day of Pentecost? 

The next evidence that I shall bring in lor the purpose 
of proving the futurity of the Kingdom of God, is the 
parable of the nobleman. Christ gave the Jews this par- 
able, we are told, because they thought that the Kingdom 
of God should immediately appear. lie was compelled 
to explain the position, and the relation he sustained to 
his kingdom in point of time. I will read from the 19th 
chapter of Luke. Christ, as you will observe, compares 
himself to a nobleman who went into a far country to re- 
ceive a kingdom — to be invested with royalty, and to re- 
turn : 

"He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a 
far county to receive for himself a kingdom and to re- 
turn. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them 
ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till 1 come. But 
his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, say- 
ing, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it 
came to pass that when he was returned, having received 
the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be 
called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that 
he might know how much every man had gained by 
trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound 
hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, 
thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in 
a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And 
the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained 
five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also 
over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, 
here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 
for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man; thou 
takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that 
thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine 
own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou 
knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid 
not down, and reaping that I did not sow : wherefore, then, 
gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my 



108 

coming I might have required mine own with usury. And 
he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the 
pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And 
they said unto him, Lord, lie hath ten pounds.) For 1 6ay 
unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given : 
and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be 
taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which 
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, 
and slay them before me." 

Now that Christ referred in this parable to himself, is 
evident, first, from the fact that before the nobleman 
went away he divided his substance among his servants, 
and said to them, "Occupy till I come;" and secondly, 
from what his servants said of him, one class of them, 
"AVe Avill not have this man to reign over us.'* When 
the nobleman returned, he divided the emoluments among 
his faithful servants, and then said of the disloyal, "bring 
them here and slay them before me." It is apparent at a 
single glance, that the nobleman in the parable repre- 
sented Christ. The Jews at that time were tributary to 
the Romans. Whenever a Roman conqueror would re- 
ceive the dominion over any conquered province, he had 
to go to the palace of the Cezars, at Rome, and having 
there received his authority, he returned, anch entered 
upon the administration of the affairs of government. 
Jesus was the nobleman, and the far country into which 
he went to receive a kingdom and return, was the court 
of his Father. He went up to Heaven to be invested 
with the dominion of all the earth, and to return from 
thence at his second advent. When he returns he is to 
receive the kingdom with the right to possess which he 
has been already clothed. It was when the nobleman 
returned that he entered upon his kingdom. "When a 
Jewish nobleman went to Rome to be invested with au- 
thority, he did not go to reign there, at Rome; but he 
went to be invested with the right to reign on his return 
home, and then it was that he could be said to receive 
his kingdom, to be established upon his throne. 



109 

Listen now, to Paul's dying charge to his son Timothy. 
It begins thus : 

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at 
his appearing and his kingdom." 

When will Christ receive his kingdom ? I answer, At 
the judgment of the quick and the dead. 

Again, the truth that Christ will receive the kingdom 
at his second advent is evident, from the testimony of 
Peter and James, recorded in the 15th chapter of the 
Acts of the Apostles. James there is heard saying to 
the apostles and elders of the church : 

''And after they had held their peace, James answered, 
saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simeon 
hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, 
to take out of them a people for his name. And to this 
agree the words of the prophets as it is written; after this 
T will return, and will build-again the tabernacle of David 
which is fallen down, and I will build up again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up." 

After having, visited the Gentiles, and taken out of 
them a people for his name, he would return and build 
the tabernacle of David which had fallen down. Was 
the tabernacle rebuilt on the day of Pentecost ? David 
never had but the one tabernacle, and that was the in- 
signia of royal power. The church, at the time here re- 
ferred to, was in ruins, and was to be rebuilt ? Is that 
the idea? You cannot rebuild a thing that has not first 
been built and then afterwards been torn down. 

Turn now to Revelations 11th chapter, beginning at the 
1 5th verse. 

" And the seventh angel sounded ; and there were great. 
voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are 
become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and 
he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty 
elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their 
faces, and worshiped God, saying, We give thee thanks, 
O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to 
come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power. 



110 

and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy 
wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should 
be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy 
servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that 
tear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy 
them which destroy the earth." 

We see here when Christ shall receive his kingdom. It 
will be when the seventh trumpet shall sound. I will let 
the angels of God preach to you to-day. When is it that 
they preach this great sermon which proclaims the con- 
version of the world, the judgment scene — the resurrec- 
tion of the dead and the destruction of the earth's cor- 
rupters ? When the seventh trumpet sounds — when is it 
that the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ ? When the seventh trumpet 
sounds and the dead are brought up before the judgment 
seat, and are judged according to their works. Did the 
seventh trumpet sound on the day of Pentecost? Did 
the judgment of quick and dead take place on the day of 
Pentecost? Did God reward his servants the prophets, 
and them that fear his name, small and great, as lie has 
promised to do on the day of Pentecost? Did the king- 
dom's of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and 
of his Christ on the day of Pentecost ? 

I have already brought forward abundant evidence to 
show that the time when Christ should receive his king- 
dom was not at the time of his first advent, nor at the 
time of his ascension, nor yet at the day of Pentecost; 
but that on the contrary it will lie when God shall reward 
his servants and his prophets of old. 

I now pause to notice the relation of Christ and his 
servants who shall reign with him, to their kingdom. 
What is the nature of Christ's possession of his kingdom ? 
Is he a king de facto, or a king de jure? It is declared 
by Peter, in Acts 3d chapter and 15th verse, that they had 
crucified the Prince of Life, but that God had raised him 
from the dead. Again in the 5th chapter and 81st verse 
he represents Christ as being elevated to the right hand 
of God as a prince and a Savior, who should give repen- 



Ill 

tance to Israel and remission of sins. He is called a 
prince. In Revelations 1st chapter, and 5th verse he is 
called the prince of the kings of the earth. 

Turn now to Revelations 19th chapter and 16th verse, 
and you will find that at his second coming he shall come 
as a king. "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Eead 
the striking description here given in the 19th chapter of 
Revelations, of this glorious personage. He has on his 
head many crowns — his eyes were as a flame of fire — he 
was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood. Out of his 
mouth went a sharp sword, with which he should smite 
the nations, and he had upon his vesture and upon his 
thigh a name written — "King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords." Now Christ sustains to his future kingdom the 
relation of a prince, but when he shall come again he 
shall come in the splendor and glory of a king. 

What relation did the saints of the Most High sustain 
on the day of Pentecost. I propose to show you that 
they possessed a kingdom in expectancy. Turn to the 
8th chapter of Romans and you will there find what 
position Paul regarded himself and his brethren in Christ, 
as occupying at that time in relation to the kingdom of 
God. Read the 17th verse. "And if children, then heirs 
— heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." Being a 
joint heir with a prince makes a man also a prince. Had 
it been the law of the Russian Empire that two persons 
could reign at the same time, the Duke Constantine 
would have reigned along with the Emperor Nicholas — 
because he was his joint heir. That is precisely the idea 
of joint heirship. Turn now to the 5th verse of the 2d 
chapter of James. 

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen 
the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the king- 
dom which he hath promised to them that love him ?" 

Yes, my friends, to be an heir of the kingdom is to be a 
prince, and to be a prince is to be entitled to possess the 
throne and scepter when heirship shall be merged into 
possession. 

Instead of the church being the kingdom all through 



112 

the writings of Christ and the Apostles, the kingdom is 
promised to the church as a reward — would it not be a 
strange thing if the church was promised to the church 
for a reward? The kingdom spoken of in the word of 
God, be its character whatever it may, is unquestionably 
held out to the church as an incentive to the acceptance 
of Christ. Now to offer to give a man that which he 
already possesses is no inducement — it is no incentive to 
him to do anything. They already had the church and 
hence there could be no propriety in holding out to them 
the promise of the church as an incentive. Hence it is 
clear that the kingdom promised was not the church. 
Said Christ to his disciples. " Fear not little flock for it is 
your Fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom? 9 
My opponent will not argue that when Christ used that 
language, the discij)l'es were in possession of what Christ 
promised to give them ; but they were in possession of 
the church — therefore he could not have meant the 
church. The passage just quoted is in the 12th chapter of 
Luke, and at the 32d verse. 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL— SEVENTH SPEECH. 

My opponent in one of his preceding speeches said that, 
Christ is now filling out the type of the Aaronic order of 
priesthood, and that he will fill out the Melchizedekian 
order when he shall sit upon his throne. If Christ is now 
a priest after the order of Melchizedek, then he is now on 
his throne, and if he is now on his throne then now is the 
time of his kingdom. The issue as my opponent has 
placed it now, turns on this one point — is he or is he not. 
now a priest after the order of Melchizedek ? Here is the 
entire issue upon his own admission, for if Christ is now 
a priest after the order of Melchisedek, then he is now 
upon his throne, and if he is now on his throne then the 
time for him to occupy that throne, the time of his king- 



113 

dom is now and not in the future. Having thus the issue 
clearly before us let us now turn to Hebrew 5th chapter, 
and 5th and 10th verses inclusive. 

" So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high 
priest ; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day 
have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, 
Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek. 
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up 
prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears 
unto him that was able to save him from death, and was 
heard in that he feared ; Though he were a Son, j^et 
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered ; 
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal 
salvation unto all them that obey him ; Called of God 
a high priest after the order of Melchisedek." 

Take in connection with this the 7th chapter of the 
same book and the 12th and 17th verses inclusive. 

"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of 
necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom 
these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of 
which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evi- 
dent that our Lord, sprang out of Judah ; of which tribe 
Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is 
yet far more evident : for that after the similitude of Mel- 
chisedek there ariseth another priest, who is made, not 
after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the 
power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a 
priest forever after the order of Melchisedek." 

Here we either have, in the language of the inspired 
Apostle, the climax of absurdity ; or else, at the time he 
wrote these words Christ was an high priest after the or- 
der of Melchisedek ; and if he was at that time an high 
priest after the order of Melchisedek, then was he at that 
very time upon his throne ; and if he was then on his 
throne, he was also at that very time in possession of the 
promised kingdom. In other words, the kingdom spoken 
of by the prophet was established at least as early as the 
time when the Apostle penned this letter. But Christ 
was not only a high priest after the order of Melchisedek, 
8 



114 

but lie was a high priest forever. Mark the language of 
the 22(1 verse : "By so much,"' — that is, " by so much was 
Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they 
truly were many priests, because they were not suffered 
to continue by reason of death : but this man, because lie 
continueth forever, hath an unchangeable priesthood." 
While thus we have the apostle settling forever the truth 
that Christ is now and ever has been a priest after the 
order of Melchisedek, and never was a priest after any 
other order, let us look around once more. 

My opponent, therefore, having rested the entire issue 
upon the fact that Christ was to be a high priest forever, 
after the order of Melchisedek, when he should be upon 
his throne, and the Apostle declaring that Christ is now 
a high priest forever, after the order of Melchisedek, we 
shall hereafter treat it as an established and admitted 
truth that the kingdom of Christ is now in existence, and 
not future. 

In this fact is found the reason why Peter, in addressing 
the Church, called them "really priests." 1st Peter, 2d 
chapter and 9th verse, says, " But ye are a chosen gener- 
ation — a royal priesthood." Royalty is something that 
belongs to the king's family alone. The same passage to 
which I have just referred, says, "Ye are a chosen gener- 
ation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar peo- 
ple." Here we have four terms : nation, people, genera- 
tion, and priesthood, all applied to what James and Pan! 
called "Israel." If you will turn to the 10th chapter of 
Romans, and 10th verse, you will find a very vivid con- 
trast to that which the Apostle affirms of that which Ik- 
calls " the twelve tribes of Israel." 

"But I say, Did not Israel know? First, Moses saith, 
I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no peo- 
ple, and by a foolish nation I will anger you." 

Let us pause and inquire what are the iorms in which 
nations are formed to exist? There are three forms, and 
only that number, viz.: republics, oligarchies, and king- 
doms. Of which one of these does the kingdom before us 
in its nature partake? Is it a kingdom, an oligarchy, or 



115 

a republic ? In republics all are equal, all are co-rulers. 
In oligarchies the few rule the many. A kingdom is the 
most simple of all the forms of government — the will of 
the king being the supreme law of the land. 

I wish now to call your attention to several passages of 
scripture. Two of them — Romans, 10th chapter, 19th 
verse, and 1st Peter, 2d chapter and 9th verse — I have 
just read in your hearing. I call your attention to the 
language of Matthew, 17th chapter, 18th and 19th verses : 

"And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of 
him : and the child was cured from that very hour. Then 
came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could 
not we cast him out ? " 

Also Acts, 15th chapter and 7th verse : 

" And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose 
up and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how 
that a good while ago, God made choice among us, that 
the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the 
gospel, and believe." 

Komans, 14th chapter and 17th verse : 

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but 
righteousness, and peace, aiad joy in the Holy Ghost." 

The benefits of any kingdom are to be possessed and 
enjoyed only by the citizens of that kingdom. Mr. Ste- 
phenson has told us that he and his brethren are not in 
this kingdom, and if that be true, then the unavoidable 
conclusion is that they are not entitled to any of the 
rights and privileges of it. But let us inquire, what are the 
privileges and immunities of the kingdom of God ? My op- 
ponent, and bhose who agree with him, may talk as much as 
they please about the peculiarities and privileges of other 
kingdoms. The kingdom before us, and its privileges 
and immunities, are widely different from other kingdoms 
— they are earthly and sensual, while the privileges and 
blessings of Christ's kingdom are righteousness, peace 
and joy in the Holy Spirit. Observe that the kingdom of 
which my opponent tells you, is an earthly, fleshly king- 
dom. He speaks of its running along from generation to 



116 

generation, for a thousand years. Peter, in his first Epis- 
tle, 2d chapter and 5th verse, says : 

"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, 
a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, accepta- 
ble to God by Jesus Christ." 

In the kingdom of which Mr. Stephenson speaks, there 
will be male and female, just the same as now; but in 
the resurrection there will be neither male nor female — 
they neither marry nor are given in marriage, — but are 
as the angels of God in heaven. Such is the striking con- 
trast between the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
which is spiritual, and the kingdom of which my oppo- 
nent speaks, which is earthly and sensual. 

This kingdom being of a spiritual nature, its blessings 
will be spiritual. There are no such privileges connected 
with it as belong to the kingdoms of this earth. The 
privileges of a subject of an earthly kingdom, are to enjoj- 
the result of his own toil and labor, and the protection 
and enjoyment of his domestic and other earthly privi- 
leges. But this kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is 
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Observe 
the contrast between the Christian's hope and the hope 
spoken of by my opponent. Tfie Christian hopes, not for 
an inheritance of acres of land, nor an abundant harvest 
of corn, nor for an abundant increase of flocks and herds* 
These all are destined to perish with the using ; but on 
the contrary, the Apostle, in 1st Peter, 1st chapter, 3d 
and 5th -verses, inclusive, says : 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath be- 
gotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorrupti- 
ble, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in 
heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God 
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the 
last time." 

The kingdom described by my opponent has its highest 
hope in perishable matters. 
Let us now look around once more over the premises 



117 

before us. I now call your attention to one thrilling 
thought, penned by the Apostle Paul — Hebrews, 7th 
chapter and 19th verse — wherein he speaks of the bring- 
ing in of a "better hope": 

"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing 
in of a better hope did ; by the which we draw nigh unto 
God." 

What can be the meaning of these words, "better 
hope " ? I venture the assertion that these words point 
to something that never can take place on this globe. 

Here I wish to pause and sum up the evidence as far as 
we have gone. We inquired, in the first place, as to the 
nature of the kingdom, and directed your minds to the 
truth that all governments are of one or another of three 
kinds, namely: republics, oligarchies, and monarchies. 
Which one of these is it that the kingdom of God shall 
belong to? Let us go to Colossians, 1st chapter and 13th 
verse, and there we find this language : 

" Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, 
and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son :" 

Let us look at both parts f this expression. Here is, 
in the first place, a striking contrast between the "power 
of darkness " and the " kingdom of God's dear Son." It 
is clear that every man is understood to be in one or in 
the other of these two. This is most rigidly true. If any 
man is not in the kingdom of God's dear Son, he is in the 
kingdom of the devil ; and hence, as a matter of course, 
recognizing the devil as his master, to whom lie shall 
stand or fall. But on the other hand, since the kingdom 
of Christ is set up on the earth, those who obey the truth 
pass out of the kingdom of darkness and out of the king- 
dom of the devil, into the kingdom of God's dear Son, — 
pass from under the authority of Satan to the authority of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Every human being therefore 
upon earth, is in one or the other of these two conditions. 
If, therefore, my opponent and his friends are not now, 
at this very hour, in the kingdom of Christ, they are in 
the kingdom of the devil, and I will give them a hint that 



118 

they had better make arrangements to emigrate from 
there as speedily as possible. 

Let me just here bring in one other declaration. Go to 
Hebrews, 12th chapter and 28th verse: "Wherefore we 
receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, let us have 
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with re- 
verence and godly fear." In Daniel, 2d chapter, 44th 
verse, we had the thought that the kingdom there spoken 
of was to be set up in the days of "these kings;" that is 
to say, in the days of the Roman Caesars. Paul here Bays 
that he and his brethren are receiving it, He wrote that 
they were, even when he wrote receiving a kingdom that 
could not be removed. Having got out of the kingdom 
of the devil and into that of God's dear son, he says, let 
us now serve hjm with reverence and godly fear. Look 
at the word "into." How clearly and forcibly it fixes the 
thought that the apostle, when writing to the Hebrew?, 
regarded himself as being within the kingdom of God's 
dear son. Now, either that kingdom was then in exist- 
ence or it was not. If was not then in existence, then it 
was nothing. And if it was nothing, then Paul and all 
his brethren were already annihilated or reduced to no- 
thing, for nothing larger thai? nothing can be put into 
nothing. I conclude, therefore, that the kingdom of ( rod's 
dear,, son was not then nothing, but that it was in exist 
ence when Paul wrote. 

One thought more just here. Go to Revelations, Lsl 
chapter. We have already brought before you this ex- 
pression, but I will bring it before your minds once more. 
Read the 9th verse : "I, John, who also am your brother, 
and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and 
patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called 
Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of 
Jesus Christ." Here we have a confirmation of the truth 
that the apostle was then in the kingdom, if John wrote 
the truth. Now, he either wrote the truth or did not. If 
he wrote the truth, then it is clear thai the kingdom was 
in existence in his day. 

We have found, in the course of this examination, three 



119 

things: first, that Jesus Christ is now a priest af the order 
of Mechisedek ; second, that he is now on his throne (for 
it was admitted by my opponent that Christ was to be a 
priest after the order of Melchisedek when he should be 
on his throne;) and, lastly, we have just now found that 
the kingdom of God was in actual existence when Paul 
wrote. For if this be not taken to be true, we have Ihe 
extraordinary alternative that Paul and all his brethren 
were nothing, and, therefore, we have one vast heap of 
nothing "translated" into nothing; and if that argument 
does not amount to absolutely nothing but a huge pile of 
nonsense, then I am not a competent judge of the matter. 
All this must be so, or, on the other hand, the kingdom 
of God's dear son was in existence when Paul wrote that 
he and his brethren had been translated into it. And if 
it was in existence at that time, it shall never be over- 
thrown, and, therefore, shall stand forever. Therefore, if 
those who have escaped from the power of darkness and 
been translated into this kingdom shall continue loyal to 
it, they have no reason to fear, for the power of the king- 
is pledged to carry them safely and triumphantly though. 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON.— SEVENTH SPEECH. 

I wish to notice a few things in the speeches of my op- 
ponent having reference, or at least, as I suppose, designed 
to have reference to the positions I have answered in the 
progress of this discussion. My opponent said that Christ 
was now a high priest after the order of Melchisedek. and, 
therefore, that he is now upon his throne. The Apostle 
Paul, in the 5th chapter of Hebrews, and at the 5th and 
6th verses, quotes the language of the great God : " So, 
also, Christ glorified not himself, to be made an high 
priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my son, to- 
day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place. 
Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedek." 



120 

Now, I can demonstrate, upon precisely the same princi- 
ple of reasoning, that at the time David wrote the 110th 
Psalm, Christ was upon his throne, for David says in that 
psalm : "The Lord hath sworn, and will no) repenl ; Thou 
art a priest forever, after the order ofMelchisedek." Take, 
now, the 15th, ltjth and 17th verses of the 7th chapter of 
Hebrews: "And it is yet far more evident, for that after 
the similitude ofMelchisedek there ariseth another priest, 
who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, 
but after the power of an endless life. For lie testilieth. 
Thou art a priest forever, after the order of 31olchisedek." 
Now, it is apparent at a single glance that if the tense of 
the verb used in the epistle to the Hebrews show:- that 
when Paul wrote Christ was a priest after the order of 
Melchisedek, then the tense of the verb used in the 110th 
Psalm shows that he was a priest after the order of Mel- 
chisedeck when David wrote this psalm. 

I wish to call your attention, here, to the fact thai the 
words "nation " and " tribes " are used synonymously. So, 
also, with regard to the word "family.'' " Families." "na- 
tions" and "tribes" are used interchangeably, and one 
maybe substituted for the other without violating the 
sense. In one place in Genesis it is said that in Abraham 
and in his seed should all the "families" of the earth be 
blessed; and in another place it is said that in his Beed 
all the "nations" of the earth should be blessed. These 
words are exchanged in a great number of instances for 
the simple purpose of avoiding tautology. 

Your attention wa.-; called to the statement of the apos- 
tle that the kingdom was not meat and drink. 1 ut right- 
eousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Now, our 
friends of the Disciple Church say they are in the king- 
dom. I wonder whether they do without MEAT and DRINK. 
If eating and drinking are incompatible with the condi- 
tion of being in the kingdom, I can not see but the objec- 
tion lies as much against them as it does against us. li 
meat and drink are not compatible with the reign of 
Christ, then my Campbellite friends can not be in Christ's 
kingdom. I am willing to compare his church with ours 



121 

and see which of the two is the most fleshy in its mani- 
festations. I stand ready to measure swords with him 
upon that question whenever and wherever he sees fit. 

Again my opponent says, that he objects to our view of 
the nature of Christ's kingdom, because it contemplates 
a succession of natural generations, and that he regards 
' as inconsistent with the Kingdom of God. But let me 
ask him, are not he and his brethren, according to his 
own assertions, now in that kingdom, and yet have they 
no such thing as natural generations in the Campbellite 
Church I If they have natural generations in their king- 
dom, why should they urge the very same thing against 
us? Now, all I have to say about this matter, is this : 
that if in the Kingdom of God there shall ever be found 
more fleshliness, and covetousness, and love of houses 
and lands, than there is in the Disciple Church to-day, 
then God Almighty deliver me from that kingdom. 
What do they do ? Do they not add farm to farm and 
field to field ? Do they not treasure up hoards of silver 
and gold as well as any body else ? If they do not buy up 
all the land there is around where they live, it is not their 
fault — it is only becauss they have not the means to do 
it with. I deny that there is any evidence whatever, 
that the church to which Mr. Russell belongs has any 
less worldly mindedness in it than ours, notwithstanding 
the fact that they profess to be even now in the Kingdom 
of God, which is not meat and drink, but righteousness, 
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

I will tell him what some of the characteristics of the 
coming age will be. It will be an age in which there 
will be none of these great land monopolies that now 
curse the earth and exclude God's poor from the use of 
the soil. It will be an age of free soil, where the rich 
shall no longer oppress the poor. 

I would say just here, and it is a fact that should not be 
lost sight of, that the antithesis of the word "spiritual" is 
not " literal," but it is simply " animal." Now, if a church 
composed of flesh and blood can be "spiritual," why can- 
not a kingdom that i& " spiritual " be likewise composed 



122 

% 

of flesh and blood ? " Men who live in glass houses ought 
to be very careful how they throw Btones." 

But my opponent says his hope and that of his breth- 
ren is in Heaven, while ours is on the earth. Well, J 
would rather have a hope on earth, or in Heaven either, 
than to have none at al], and that is really the condition 
they are in so far as the kingdom is concerned', because, 
according to their own statements, they have already gol 
the kingdom and have none to hope for in the future 1 . ( >ur 
hope is for the coining of our Lord Jesus Christ. The 
title to our kingdom is vested in him. When he comes 
we shall possess with him the kingdom, and if he never 
comes we shall never get it. When he comes he will sot 
up his throne in accordance with prophecy, and then 
shall our hope be realized. The apostle John, in tl 
chapter of Revelations, says, "Behold I come quickly, 
and my reward is with me, to give every man according 
to his work." Our reward is with him, and our hope is 
that when he shall come he will invite the blessed of his 
Father to come and inherit the kingdom. He will share 
the inheritance with all the saints of the Most High. 

I shall now resume the affirmative part of the discus- 
sion where I left it off. I was showing you the inconsist- 
ency of the position that the church is the kingdom. 1 
was showing that so far from the church being the king- 
dom, the church was promised the kingdom as a reward 
for fealty. Christ said it was hard for a rich man to enter 
into the Kingdom of God — as hard as it was for a camel 
to go through the eye of a needle. My friend, Mr. Rus- 
sell, is it as hard for a rich man to get into your kingdom 
as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle \ 
Will not your church turn out half a dozen poor men 
where they will not turn out one rich man for the very 
same offense? Even your ministers will bow low to a 
rich man. And yet how different from this is the King- 
dom of God ! The road is so narrow, the gate is so straight, 
that a rich man cannot get into it with his riches at all. 
That description will not apply to your kingdom at all. 
What right, then, have you to claim that your church is 



123 

the Kingdom of God? 1 like consistency, even in error. 

Again, Christ said, "Sutler little children t^come unto 
me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of 
Heaven." Has my opponent become all of a sudden 
converted into a Pedo-Baptist ? In his church-kingdom 
little children have no part. Did you turn the children 
all out on the day of Pentecost? You must either take 
the position that Christ on the day of Pentecost excom- 
municated all these little children, or that they remained 
within the kingdom and are in it still. And here again I 
say, "Consistency, thou art a jewel." What did Christ 
mean when he said, "Suffer little children to come unto 
me, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven?" It is easily 
understood when you admit the true nature of the king- 
dom. When Israel shall be brought back into their own 
land, the two branches re-united into one kingdom, and 
when they shall dwell in the land, they shall be greatly 
multiplied — so says the inspired prophet of God, Ezekiel 
— and thus will there be children in the Kingdom of 
Jesus Christ. Admit the true nature of the Kingdom of 
God, and all difficulty disappears, like fog before the 
morning sun. 

Let us go a step further. Christ, who shall come, and 
shall sit upon the throne of his glory, invites the church 
to come and inherit — what ? To come and inherit the 
Cliurcli? The absurdity of the thing speaks for itself. 
It is not that. He invites them to come and inherit the 
" Kingdom," prepared for them from the foundation of 
the world. Whatever that kingdom shall be, it is plain 
that it is not to be established until the time when 
Christ shall set upon the throne of his glory, and all na- 
tions shall stand before him ; for it is then, and not till 
then, that he invites his people to come and inherit the 
kingdom. Can we imagine that Christ will use this lan- 
guage after the " blessed of the Father " have already 
inherited, possessed and enjoyed that kingdom for 
eighteen hundred years and more? They have already 
been that long in full possession of the kingdom, if my 
opponent's position is true, that the church is that kingdom. 



124 

Again, Christ told his disciples that he would not drink 
of the juice of the grape again until he dank it anew in 
his Father's— church ? No; in his Father's Kifydorrt. 
The disciples asked Christ, "Wilt thou at this time restore 
again the kingdom to Israel?" They did not ask him if 
he would restore the church to Israel. Now, a thing can- 
not be restored until it lias first had an existence, and af- 
terwards has been overthrown or destroyed ; then it can 
be restored. Now, if the kingdom meant the church, 
there is an insuperable difficulty in the way; for the 
church had not been overthrown or destroyed, and there- 
fore to talk of restoring the church would have been 
sheer nonsense. But apply the language to the kingdom 
of Israel, and let it refer to a restoration of that nation at 
a time future, and there is not a particle of difficulty, bui 
all is clear and simple. 

Turn with me now to Hebrews, 12th chapter and 28th 
verse : 

"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be 
moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God ac- 
ceptably with reverence and godly fear." 

The kingdom that is here spoken of as being received 
by the apostle and his brethren is represented as being a 
kingdom which cannot be moved — a kingdom that shall 
remain forever — and from this very fact we learn that 
other kingdoms are to be removed out of the May. The 
time is near at hand when all the nations of the earth 
shall come up to Mt. Zion to Christ the Judge of all the 
earth and the King of kings — the Mediator of the new 
covenant — and he shall administer justice and judgment 
unto them. Did they then in fact come up to Mt. Zion on 
the day of Pentecost? Was Jesus Christ in person 
there on that day? Did they come on that day to "the 
spirits of just men made perfect," or to the "general as- 
sembly and church of the first born?" Did they come in 
fact on that day, or did they only then come by faith? 
They did not come in fact we know. They came by faith. 
And why may not the kingdom have come by faith also ? 
But we believe that from the standpoint marked down by 



125 

the apostle, the people of God, whether living or dead, 
having been raised from the slumbers of the grave, 
shall receive a kingdom that cannot be moved. 

Paul tells the church in another place: "It is through 
much tribulation that we enter the kingdom." Is there 
much tribulation to pass through in order to get into the 
church of my opponent \ I could go into their church in 
the town of Buchanan, in Iowa, and everywhere, by en- 
dorsing their creed. On these conditions, .any rich man 
can go right into their church without the least particle 
of tribulation. It is not through much tribulation that 
we enter the church, but it is through much tribulation 
we are to enter into the kingdom of God. 

Turn, if you please, to the Epistle of James, 2d chapter 
and 5th verse : 

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen 
the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the king- 
dom which he hath promised to them that love him ? " 

He speaks here of the poor of this world being heirs — 
heirs of what? Heirs of the c-Jmrch? The poor do not 
certainly inherit the church— they are not the heirs of the 
church. We are told by the apostle that they are "heirs 
of the kingdom." Mark, the passage makes these Christ- 
ians heirs (not possessors,) of a future kingdom, thirty 
years after the day of Pentecost. But if the church is 
the kingdom, they were then possessors of an existing 
kingdom. 

Peter says : " Add to your faith virtue, and to virtue 
knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to tem- 
perance patience," and so on, godliness, brotherly kind- 
ness and charity. For if we do so, what shall we have ? 
"An abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of 
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." How would it read to 
substitute for the everlasting kingdom in this promise the 
church? How would it sound to tell them that if they 
possessed such and such noble christian graces, an abund- 
ant entrance should be administered unto them into the 
everlasting church? But apply this to a future kingdom, 
and it will all be plain. There is a peculiar and special 



126 

difficulty just here, in view of the meaning and rise of the 
original Greek word here translated kingdom, {Ba 
if it is translated "church." That Greek term has in it 
essentially the idea of royalty. Basileus signifies a royal 
sovereign — and basilei a kingdom reigned over by a sov- 
ereign. Ecclesia, the term for church, is never translated 
"kingdom" — nor is there any more propriety in translat- 
ing basilei by the word church, than there would be in 
translating ecclesia by the word kingdom. The word 
basilei cannot be translated church without the greatest 
absurdity in a great variety of instances. We are told 
that they " shall come from the East and the West, the 
North and the South, and shall sit down with Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob in" — in what? In the church? The 
sentence would be ridiculous. 

I now propose, if I have time, to look at some of the 
objections of my opponent. Let us inquire a little in 
regard to Christ's coming in the clouds of heaven at the 
time of his second advent. The shining ones said to the 
apostles: l 'Ye men of Gallilee why stand ye here gazing 
up into heaven — this same Jesus shall return again in like 
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." How did 
he go into heaven ? He arose and went from them and a 
bright cloud received him out of their sight. 

In the 30th verse of the 24th chapter of Matthew, he is 
represented as coming " in the clouds of heaven with 
power and great glory." In Revelations 1st chapter and 
7th verse, it is written, "Behold lie cometh with clouds 
and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced 
him and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because 
of him." Will my opponent insist upon wresting the 13th 
verse of the 7th chapter of Daniel from its connect ions 
so as to make the son go to the Father instead of coming- 
down to this earth in the clouds of heaven ! John says, 
he crime, Daniel uses the word ••come." What does thai 
word mean? Surely it means to approximate to the per- 
son speaking. We know that very well. In regard to 
the personage or personages intended by the words 
ancient of days, it evidently does not refer to the Father 



127 

of our Lord. An excellent Hebrew scholar says, the 
original word might with perfect propriety he rendered in 
the plural — "ancients." It doubtless refers to the angels 
of God who shall attend Christ when he comes to judge 
the world. 



AFF.— F. T. RUSSELL.— EIGHTH SPEECH. 

I shall commence as nearly as possible at the point 
where Ave closed. On Saturday last the issue was formed 
between me and my opponent as to the great city which 
is to be the capital of the new earth. Into that city all 
the righteous are to enter, by my Mend's admission. The 
nations are to bring their glory and honor into it and 
those outside are denomined dogs and sorcerers and so 
on. Those on the inside, as he said on Saturday, will all 
be kings and emperors. Let me ask over whom will they 
rule ? If all the wicked are outside of this city, and for- 
ever to stay out, and all the righteous inside, and forever 
to stay in, how are all these kings and emperors to rule 
over them that are outside of the city walls. A wall fif- 
teen hundred miles high cuts them off from their subjects, 
I do not see how he can say that all of those who are 
within those walls are kings and emperors unless they 
take turns in ruling, and whenever it comes to that I 
think they would not be a great while in getting up a 
quarrel about who should rule first. Here then is the 
first difficulty that grows out of my friend's view of this 
great city — the royal personages inside cannot rule over 
any beings in the universe from their isolated position 
unless they rule over each other by turns. There is a 
wall fifteen hundred miles high between them and their 
proper subjects — the "dogs and sorcerers " cannot get in 
and the " kings and emperors " cannot get out. 

I wish now to present to your minds another contrast. 
Turn to the 3d chapter of Matthew and 2d verse, John 
the Baptist proclaimed in the wilderness of Juclea, " Re- 



12S 

pent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'' In Luke 
10th chapter and 11th verse, Christ also tells his disciples, 
""Be ye sure of this — that the kingdom of God is come 
nigh unto you." Here the kingdom of God is said to be 
" at hand," and it is said to have come nigh. Mark the 
beginning of the 2d chapter of 2d Thessalonians. 

u Now we beseech you brethren, by the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto 
him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled 
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, 
that the day of Christ is at hand." 

Let no man deceive you by any means. The amount 
of this instruction given by Christ to his apostles is just 
this. If any one says to you that the day of the Lord is 
as near at hand as his kingdom do not believe one word 
of it. While John the Baptist, the Savior himself, the 
twelve and the seventy, said the kingdom of heaven was 
at hand. Paul writing more than thirty years afterwards 
says to his brethren, if any one tells you that the day of 
the Lord is at hand he is a liar and the truth is not in him. 
How can this be if both are to come at one and the same 
time? If this kingdom of God is to be set up according 
to Mr. Stephenson, when the Lord comes hereafter, then 
it is clear that when Paul wrote that the kingdom was not 
at hand, lie stands convicted of having written a false- 
hood. He says in the same chapter from which I have 
just quoted, and immediately following the preceding 
([notation. "For that day shall not come except there 
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be re- 
vealed, the son of perdition," and so on. I repeat it once 
more that the "kingdom of God " and the "day of the 
Lord" were one of them, just as near as the other at the 
time Paul wrote if they came at the same time. Either 
Paul was a false teacher, or else every one who teaches 
that theyr were to come at one and the same time is a 
false teacher. 

Judge ye, for yourselves, on whom you will rely. One 
of the two was at hand when John spoke — the other was 
not at hand when Paul wrote. Of one the Savior said it 



129 

had come nigh ; of the other Paul said it was a long way 
ofl'. In Matthew 25th chapter, and 19th verse, we are told 
that " after a long time the lord of those servants cometh 
and reckoneth with them." Here then we find an irre- 
concilable contrast between the kingdom of God and the 
time spoken of as " the day of the Lord." 

Let us now turn our attention to other matters which 
we desire to bring before you. My opponent has located 
the second coming of Christ more than a thousand years 
before the final resurrection and judgment ; and yet, in 
his very last speech, he told you that every eye should 
see him and all the nations of the earth should wail be- 
cause of him. When he made the last statement he told 
you the truth, but when he said the Savior would appear 
a thousand years before the last resurrection, he told you 
what cannot be true. He is here directly in conflict with 
himself. 

How does the word of God dispose of this matter ? says 
the Savior — in Matthew 25th chapter, 31st and 32d verse. 

"When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne 
of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all na- 
tions; and he shall separate them one from another, as a 
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." 

When is it that all nations are to be gathered together 
before him ? Answer. When he comes. It is said in the 
21th chapter of Matthew, and 30th verse, and also in 
Revelations 1st chapter and 7th verse, that he shall come 
with clouds and with power and great glory, and that 
e . r ery eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him 
and that all kindreds of the earth shall wail because ol 
him. 

It is clear from the manner in which the two are con- 
joined in the language just referred to, that the time of 
the coming of Christ is coincident with the time of the 
final judgment and resurrection. It is at that very time, 
(as Paul declares 2 Corinthians, 5th chapter and 10th 
verse,) that you and I must appear before the judgment 
seat of Christ, to give an account for the deeds done in 
9 



130 

the body, and then we too shall hear the final sentence 
of the Judge Eternal concerning us. And when this is 
done (1 Corinthians, 15th chapter,) the Son gives up the 
kingdom to God the Father, "that God maybe all in all.'' 
The time of his coming being the time of the last resur- 
rection, then all ruling power will be taken from Death, 
and then will occur what is related in the 110th Psalm : 
"The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand 
till I make thy foes thy footstool.' 1 Paul, the apostle, in 
the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, has quoted and com- 
mented upon this very passage, and he there declares Dial 
the Savior is to remain at God's right hand until his ene- 
mies are all subdued, and one of those enemies, and the 
last that shall be subdued, is Death. Death will not be 
subdued until all ruling power is taken from him — all rul- 
ing power will not be taken from death until the last 
human being has been brought out from under Death's 
dominion. Consequently Christ must sit where he now 
is upon the right 'hand of the Father until the resurrec- 
tion of the last member of the human family. Then, 
Death being destroyed, his power demolished, the Son 
gives up his position at the right hand of the Father, gives 
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, that God may 
be all in all. 

I have already anticipated, that while my opponent 
places the coming of Christ at the beginning of liis reign, 
Paul, on the other hand, places it at its consummation, 
when he gives up the kingdom to the Father. Mr. Steph- 
enson represented the Savior as going to Heaven, remain- 
ing there for century upon century, and then coming back 
to this earth to prepare a kingdom for those who are to be 
kings and to reign in his temporal kingdom. Hear John, 
14th chapter, 2d and 3d verses : 

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were 
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for 
you. And if I go and prepare a place for yon, I will come 
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, 
there ye may be also." 

Does the Savior say, "I will come and stay here?" No. 



131 

lie says, "I will come and receive you to myself, that 
where I am there ye may be also." 

Let us now pass to look at some other interesting mat- 
ters. My friend has claimed that there is to be a proba- 
tion of a thousand years after the coming of Christ, If 
Christ is to judge the quick and dead at his second com- 
ing, at his appearing and kingdom, then as a natural con- 
sequence there can not be a thousand years of probation 
to transpire after his coming, and before the final judg- 
ment. The time of his appearing and "kingdom is the 
time of his giving up the kingdom to the Father. Go to 
Matthew, 24th chapter, 37th to 39th verse, inclusive : 

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming 
of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were be- 
fore the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying 
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered 
into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took 
them all away : so shall also the coming of the Son of 
man be." 

When the flood came, not a solitary human being but 
those who had before obeyed the Lord, escaped. Not one 
solitary moment was given them for preparation. Now, 
the Savior says the coming of the Son of man shall be 
just as was the coming of the flood ; and as not one soli- 
tary rebel then escaped, neither shall one solitary rebel 
escape when the Son of man shall come. The rebel shall 
receive the reward of a rebel, and an obedient servant 
shall receive the reward of the obedient, But to make 
" assurance doubly sure," go with me now, and let us see 
what we have it. 2d Thessalonians, 1st chapter and 7th 
verse : ** 

" And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the 
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his 
mighty angels." 

They are to be driven away when he comes — not a 
thousand years afterward. 

Having this matter set thus clearly before us, let us 
look once more at this remarkable expression : " Shall be 
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence 



13? 

of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he 
shall come to be admired in all them that believe." 
There are but two great events that are called in the 
Holy Scriptures "the coming of the Lord." The first is 
where he came as "a man of sorrows, and acquainted 
with grief;" the second will be when he shall come again 
"without a sin, offering unto salvation." And at this 
very time, when he shall come to be glorified in all his 
saints, then, at that very time, is he to punish all his foes, 
and drive them from the presence of the Lord forever, 
and from the glory of his power. 

Now if Paul tells the truth, where is your thousand 
years of probation ? I have heard of a certain thing said 
to be harder to do than for a camel to go through the eye 
of a needle ; but it would be a great deal easier for a 
thousand camels to go through the eye of the finest cam- 
brie needle, than it will be for my opponent to get him- 
self out of this difficulty. 

Let us now turn and look at one other little mi 
And here again we have presented to us the spectacle of 
Stephenson against Stephenson. The good Book tells us 
that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Let 
us see how long Mr. Stephenson's theory is likely to 
stand when divided, as it now is, against itself. He has 
spoken of "heirship" and "possession" as being synony- 
mous. He declared that a man could not be heir to any- 
thing and possess it at the same time ; and this declara- 
tion he made in the very next breath after saying that 
heirship and possession were synonymous terms. Are 
there any ladies or gentlemen here who have inherited 
real estate from their parents ? You are just asjnuch an 
heir of your ancestor now as you we e before you entered 
into full possession of the property. I want my friend to 
bear in mind hereafter, that a man may be both heir and 
possessor at one and the same time. Let us try to speak 
of these things as they are, and not as our fancies would 
have them. We are told that the words "nation " and 
"family" are synonymous. I receive that in a qualified 
manner. Go to Ephesians, 3d chapter and 15th verse : 



133 

•• Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is 
named." 

This is the Lord's family he is speaking of. Now if you 
had no son nor daughter, nor any member of your family, 
in Oregon, for instance, could I, with any degree of pro- 
priety, in speaking of you, use the term, " the whole fam- 
ily in Oregon and Indiana ? " Certainly not. But on the 
other hand, if you had children in Indiana, and in Oregon 
also, I could use such an expression with perfect propri- 
ety. Just so the Apostle, speaking of the members of 
the Savior's family, said, " Of whom the whole family in 
heaven and on earth is named." And here, too, is the 
reason whj r the Savior said "All power is given unto me 
in heaven and on earth." The earth is only one province 
of the Savior's kingdom — the other is above us. 

I will merely pause for one moment, just here, to in- 
quire : Will my opponent affirm that a " kingdom " is not 
a "nation?" If he will say that a nation can not be a 
kingdom, nor a kingdom a nation, I will acknowledge that 
there is some little consistency in what he says ; but until 
he does so all his talk is vain. 

Let us turn, once more, to the coming of Christ to the 
" Ancient of days." He suggests that we take the words 
" of days " out of the sentence and it will be very plain and 
easily to be understood according to his interpretation of 
the passage. Well, I do not know what we might make 
out of the Word of God in many passages by taking out a 
word here and a word there, if we were inclined to do so. 
I will adopt his suggestion and I will make a curiosity. I 
have just as good a right to take out any other word I 
please from any sentence found in the Bible as he has to 
take the word " days " out of the passage in question. 
Let us see : " Let him that stole, steal." There is a very 
unwarrantable perversion of an idea, for the true reading 
of the sentence is: "Let him that stole, steal no more? 
I have just as good a right to take any word I please out 
of a sentence of Holy Writ as my opponent has. 



134 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON— EIGHTH SPEECH. 

I stated, upon the authority of one of the best Hebrew- 
scholars in the United States, that the word " days " might 
be left out of the expression " ancient of days " used in 
the English version of the Bible. We find in the 2d chap- 
ter of Colossians the language: "Let no man, therefore, 
judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day. 
or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days, which are a 
shadow of things to come ; but the body is of Christ." 
Many translators leave out the word u days" in this 
passage, leaving the word "sabbaths." And so in many 
other instances. The Bible is full of them. The He- 
brew word elohim has singular verbs and pronouns 
representing it. So of the Hebrew pronoun rendered 
" ancient of days." 

My opponent wants to know if all the righteous are to 
reign and to be kings, over whom they are to reign. They 
will reign over the nations of the earth, as has been al- 
ready demonstrated a number of times during the pro- 
gress of this debate. By reference to the 4th chapter of 
Micah and the 2d chapter of Isaiah you will find that at 
the time when the word of the Lord shall go forth from 
Zion, the nations will still be in a mortal state, and all 
nations shall come up to Jerusalem, saying: "Come, let 
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of 
the God of Jacob ; and he will teaoh us of his ways, and 
we will walk in his paths." You will find, by referring to 
Revelations, 20th chapter and 3d verse, that an angel puts 
a seal upon the old dragon after he has been cast into the 
bottomless pit, that he should deceive the nations do 
more till the thousand years should be finished. Now, if 
the nations should not then be in a state that rendered 
them susceptible of being deceived, where is the neces- 
sity that God should thus chain the adversary and cast 
him into the pit and put a seal on him to keep him from 
deceiving them any more until the thousand years should 
be fulfilled? It would be like chaining the wolf alter he 
had killed off the last sheep of the flock, if the nations 



135 

had all been destroyed before the dragon had been 
chained. The nations, to prevent the deceiving of which 
Satan is chained*, will be the subjects over whom Christ 
and the saints shall reign. Hence it is said that they 
reigned with Christ a thousand years. While, as has been 
shown, Christ and his saints are within the city — while 
the throne of the Lamb is in the city, and the saints reign 
with him — without are nations, and these nations dis- 
eased, and within the city is medicine to heal their mala- 
dies. They must, therefore, be mortal, and upon proba- 
tion, or they would not need healing. That these nations 
are upon the earth is evident from the 24th verse of the 
21st chapter, which reads: "And the nations of them 
which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the 
kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into (to) 
it." These mortal nations will be the subjects in the 
kingdom. In the 2d chapter and 26th verse, Christ says: 
"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto 
the end, to him will I give power over the nations." The 
saints will be the rulers and these nations the subjects. 
While the kingdom and dominion of the whole earth 
shall be given to Christ and all the saints of the Most 
High, as a first party, there will be all nations as 
a second party to serve and obey. See Daniel vii : 
13, 14, 27. Now, these nations come to the city of Jerusa- 
em — the city of the great king. My opponent says they 
can not get in. Very well. The original word, rendered 
in, is as often translated by and to as it is translated 
into ; and if they come to the city it is quite sufficient for 
our purpose. We will not stop to quibble about that. 
The nations come to the city, bringing their glory and 
honor to it. It does not follow that they go into the city 
at all. These nations are without, while the saints of God 
and the Lamb are within ; and within the walls of that 
city is also the tree of life, and " the leaves of the tree are 
for the healing of the nations." The obedient go through 
the gates into the city, but the disobedient stay outside. 
But my friend Mr. Russell says that the time of Christ's 
coming and the final resurrection are one and the same, 



136 

and, therfore, there can be no period of a thousand years 
probation. Go with me, if yon please, to the 20th chapter 
of Revelations and 4th and 5th verses, and you will read 
the following language: "And I Saw thrones, and they 
sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and 
I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the wit- 
ness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not 
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had re- 
ceived his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; 
and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thou- 
sand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.*" 
In the 4th verse we have the copulative conjunction and, 
but in the 5th verse the disjunctive conjunction but is 
used, showing the contrast between those first mentioned 
and those that follow. "And they lived and reigned with 
Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived 
not again until the thousand years were finished.' 3 Thus 
teaching that one thousand years shall intervene between 
the two resurrections. At the 6th verse we find a record 
of the first resurrection: "Blessed and holy is he that 
hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second 
death hath no power, but they shall be priests of < rod and 
of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years;" At 
the 12th verse we find a record of the second resurrection 
at the end of the thousand years : " And 1 saw the dead, 
small and great, (high and low degree,) stand before God ; 
and the books were opened, and another book was opened, 
which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of 
those things which were written in the books, according 
to their works." 

But let us see how it is about this wall of which my 
opponent speaks, that is fifteen hundred miles high, so 
that the nations outside can not get in and the saints who 
are inside can not get out. He concludes, from his state- 
ment, that, as a necessary consequence, the saints, if they 
rule at all, must rule over one another within the walls 
of the city. Let us, in the first place, look at my friend's 
mathematics. He stated that the city w as fifteen hundred 



137 

miles square. John does not say so. If you have a field 
that lias just one hundred rods in its measure, and that 
field should be square, there would be just twenty-five 
rods on each of the four sides. The city was measured 
fifteen hundred miles, and it was square. That would give 
just three hnndred and seventy-five miles on each side. 
The length and the breadth and the hight of the city are 
equal. But you know there is always a certain symmetry 
and proportion to be observed in the length and width 
and hight of a house. The very sense of the term ren- 
dered equal, signifies proportion. The city is to be of fair 
and beautiful proportions. This is what is meant by the 
revelator. And there is to be no night there. The gates 
of the city will not be closed at night, for there will be no 
night there. My opponent never seems to look at a text 
to see what it means. 

But he has learned another strange thing — he has dis- 
covered that the word " all," in one place means all, while 
in another place it signifies only one third. He has found 
out that I have changed my position — that I have taken 
the position that the wicked dead at the time of Christ's 
coming will not be raised until the end of a thousand 
years. And secondly that the very men who actually 
pierced Christ will be raised from the dead when Christ 
comes in order to look upon him. I will answer this right 
here. If he will answer the question as to whether the 
three thousand souls that were present on the day of Pen- 
tecost, personally killed Jesus Christ as Peter charged 
them with having done, then I will answer his question 
as to those who " shall look upon him whom they pierced. 
Before the assembled multitude at Jerusalem gathered 
together out of seventeen different nations, Peter said, 
" Ye have killed the Prince of Life."- Had the persons he 
was addressing actually crucified the Prince of Life ? No. 
Their nation however had done it, and they were held 
responsible for it. Upon the same principle the last liv- 
ing generation of the Jews who shall dwell in Palestine 
at the time of Christ's second advent shall " look upon 
him whom they have pierced." Christ declared that all 



13S 

the blood shed by his holy prophets from the blood of 
righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah who was slain 
between the porch and the altar, was shed by those 
whom he was then addressing. They had not done it 
personally, we know that very well, but they belonged 
to the same race of those who had done it. That the lan- 
guage: "They shall look on him whom they pierced," 
refers to the generation of the Jewish people thai shall 
be living in the land of Palestine, whither they shall have 
been gathered together out of all nations upon the earth, 
at the time of Christ's second coming, is evident from 
Zechariah 12th chapter and 7th and 8th verses, where the 
prophet says : 

"The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, thai 
the glory of the house of David and the glory of the in- 
habitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against 
Judah. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at thai 
day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be 
as God, as the angel of the Lord before them." 

Here we see clearly that those who are to look on him 
whom they have pierced are the Jews, who after being 
scattered abroad among all nations that dwell on the face 
of the earth, are afterward restored to the tents of Judah 
in the land of Palestine. 

In another place the Lord declares by the mouth of the 
prophet that "I will gather all nations together against 
Jerusalem and there will I plead for my people." At the 
end of the period of their dispersion, the Jews will be 
gathered back into their own land, and then all nations 
will be gathered together in hostile array against them. 
The great conflict between Christ and the assembled na- 
tions is recorded in Kev. xix: 11-16: "And I saw heaven 
opened, and behold a Avhite horse ; and he that sat upon 
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness 
he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a dame 
of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a 
name written that no man knew but he himself. And he 
was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name 



139 

is called The Word of God. And the armies which were 
in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine 
linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a 
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations ; and 
he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the 
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name writ- 
ten, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Zech. 
xiv : 1-5 : " Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy 
spoil shall be divided into the midst of thee. For I will 
gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ; and the 
city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women 
ravished ; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity 
and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the 
city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those 
nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his 
feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, 
which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of 
Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east 
and toward the west, and there shall be a very great 
valley ; and half the mountain shall remove toward the 
north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee 
to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the 
mountains shall reach unto Azal ; yea, ye shall flee, like 
as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uz- 
ziah king of Judah ; and the Lord my God shall come, and 
all the saints with thee." Joel iii: 1, 2: "For, behold, in 
those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the 
captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all 
nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Je- 
hoshaphat,.and will plead with them there for my people, 
and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered 
among the nations, and parted my land." 

The world will be represented in the last great battle. 
When Christ comes to overthrow the assembled nations, 
every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him, the 
Jews in that land. 



140 



AFF.— P. T. EUSSELL— NINTH SPEECH. 

Third Day, Tuesday, October 2d, 10 A. M. 

The morning of the last day of this protracted discus- 
sion has arrived. It will be our purpose on this day as 
far as possible to sum up the evidence that has been ad- 
duced and submit the same to the arbitrament of your 
judgments. But while this shall be our purpose there arc 
some things that require at our hands a somewhat criti- 
cal notice. And first I wish to call your attention to this 
fact, that there is no where in the holy scriptures a soli- 
tary place, where the Lord has promised to restore Israel 
a third time. Where he has promised to deliver them a 
third t ime from bondage. And while I call your atten- 
tion first to this fact we shall find the record of God's 
promise to restore them a second time, in Isaiah 11th 
chapter, and 11th and 16th verses inclusive, in the follow- 
ing language : 

u And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord 
shall set his hand again the second time to recover the 
remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Otish, and 
from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from 
the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for 
the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and 
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four cor- 
ners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall de- 
part, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off. 
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex 
Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the 
Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the 
east together; they shall lay their hand upon Edom and 
Moab ; and the children of Amnion shall obey them. And 
the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptain 
sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand 
over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, 
and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be a 



141 

highway for the remnant of his people, which shall he left, 
from Assyria ; like as it was to Israel in the day that he 
came up out of the land of Egypt." 

Mark verse 11th — "And it shall come to pass in that 
day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time 
to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left." 
Did he set his hand the first time to recover them from 
Egypt ? Did he recover them from Egypt, and was not 
that the first time ? And while I ask this question, you 
who are familiar with the bible know it is true — that it 
must be answered in the affirmative. Here, then, is the 
first time that the Lord "set his hand" to bring Israel up. 
The second time was when he " set his hand " to bring 
them up from the Babylonian captivity, and as there is 
nowhere within the lids of the Bible a voluntary promise 
to bring them up a third time, there is no evidence what- 
ever in the Bible to show that Godwill ever restore, or 
that he has ever promised to restore, or to " bring them 
up " from their present dispersed condition. Again I ask 
you to mark the language contained in verse 11 — " The 
Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover 
the remnant of his people which shall be left." From 
where ? Answer — " From Assyria," one place ; " From 
Egypt," two places; "From Pathros," three places, and 
"from Cush." Here let us pause one moment. If he is 
going to call up his people from a country called " Cush," 
must it not be while there is such a country in existence? 
Of course it must be so. But long in the past has that peo- 
ple passed away from the face of the earth. The dark wave 
of oblivion has rolled over them for hundreds of years, 
and on earth as a people, they are known now no more. 
And thus we have cumulative evidence of the fact that 
the deliverance referred to in the passage before us, was 
a deliverance that is past and not future. But let us re- 
turn to the passage we were reading. It is also said in 
the same verse, that he shall bring them " from Elam, 
and from Shinar, and from Hamath." Here are three 
other peoples or nations named, out of which the rem- 
nant of his people should be brought up, and no one of 



142 

those three nations now exists upon the face of the globe. 
This second setting of his hand to recover them must be 
in the past and not in the future. At the time of the 
restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, 
there was a nation called " Cush," and all those other 
peoples and nations then existed, and by bringing up the 
Jews from those nations, and restoring them to their own 
land, the promise of the Lord was then fulfilled. 

Examine, if you please, the last verse of the same 
chapter : 

"And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his 
people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was 
to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of 
Egypt." 

Of what time is the prophet here speaking: 1 What 
restoration is prefigured here ? The Lord says there shall 
be a highway for the remnant of his people, like unto 
what? Does he say, like as it was in the day whew 
Israel came up out of the land of Babylon ? No. " Like 
as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the 
land of Egypt." At the time the prophet wrote these 
words the Lord's hand had not been set to recover Israel 
from the Babylonish captivity. They had never yet been 
delivered from Babylon, and hence the prophet compar- 
ing what shall come after with what has gone before, 
says there shall be a highway, such as was prepared for 
the people of the Lord when he brought them up out of 
the land of Egypt. 

Now I wish to refresh your minds with a statement that 
I have already made two or three times in the progress 
of this discussion; that there is not a solitary prediction 
of the restoration of the twelve tribes, but what was 
made before their restoration from the Babylonish cap- 
tivity, and that does not, in that event, find its full and 
entire fulfillment. 

I now call your attention to a declaration made by my 
opponent. He stated that there is no place in the Bible 
where the words "all nations" mean more than all na- 
tions then living. I shall not take issue with him on this 



143 

point. I would just as lief admit that as not. It is said 
that all nations shall be gathered before Christ at the 
time of his coming, and not only they, but the very ones 
that pierced him are to look upon him also. Not only are 
they who shall be living at the time of his advent to be- 
hold him, but the very ones who thrust the spear into his 
side. Surely that is plain enough, and I really cannot see 
why my friend has brought this matter up at all, unless it 
be in order that he may, cuttle-fish like, hide himself be- 
hind a dark cloud of his own raising, and induce his 
hearers to lose sight of the great truth so strikingly set 
forth in the w T ord of God, that " they shall look on him 
whom they have pierced," in that great day. 

Again you were told by my friend that the Greek prep- 
osition eis may be translated "to," with as much propri- 
ety as it can be translated "into." I hold in my hand 
Bullion's Greek grammar, a. work which will not be called 
in question by my friend as being a work of authority 
upon all such points as the one before us. We have the 
definitions of these three Greek prepositions, eis, ek and 
en. And what does the author here say about the mean- 
ing of the preposition eis ? I will read it to you : " Eis 
— primary signification, to, into, motions from without 
to within — the opposite of ek." Let us see how eh is de- 
fined. " Ek— PRIMARY SIGNIFICATION, from. Out, Out of— 

motion from within to withoutc-the opposite of eis? 
Having thus the meaning of these two opposite words 
before 'us, let us look at the definition of the third, en — an 
intermediate term between the other two. " En — prim- 
ary signification, in ; with the idea of rest and being- 
contained within." Here then we have, upon the author- 
ity of Mr. Bullion, as well as of Liddell and Scott, who 
define the words in the same way, the preposition en, sig- 
nifying in, containing the idea of rest, and also the idea 
of being within. On the one side of this middle word en, 
signifying rest within, we have two extremes — two words 
signifying motion ; one, however, signifying motion from 
within to without, and the other from without to within 
— eis being defined as the opposite of ek, and ek as the 



144 

opposite of eis. If eh means " out of," then eis means 
"into'" — neither more nor less — for eis is the opposite of 
eh. Having thus, then, these words and their significa- 
tions clearly before us, as defined by men who are schol- 
ars indeed, we will leave this thought for the present, 

I wish to make a remark or two in relation to my 
friend's criticism in regard to the " ancient of days,' 1 and 
will ask you to go with me to Daniel, 7th chapter. You 
recollect the position my opponent assumed in regard to 
the language to be found there. I am going to show you 
that his leaving out the word "days " is not going to help 
him any ; neither is his adding the letter "s" to the word 
" ancient," In the 13th verse of the chapter before us, it 
is stated that they brought " him," i, e. Christ; near before 
another "him," not "them," and that "him" was the k " an- 
cient of days." In the next place, you observe that if 
you add the letter s to the word " ancient," so as to make 
it plural, you are compelled either to throw out the word 
"him" and make it "them," or else you must throw out 
the entire phrase and put in one of domestic manufac- 
ture. And, my friends, you should be very careful how 
you give credence to any system of religion that depends 
for its support on a Bible of domestic manufacture. But 
how will the passage in question read when amended as 
the gentleman proposes, by leaving out the word " days." 
and adding an s to the word "ancient" ? It will read as 
follows : 

"They brought him near before tfiem, and there was 
given him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations and languages should serve him : his do- 
minion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 

On an examination of the language we find it abso- 
lutely impossible that the words the " ancient of days," 
should be applied to the angels or any other beings in 
the universe than the Eternal himself. The pronoun 
"him" is used, being in the singular number. But above 
all other objections stands this, that the moment you ap- 
ply the term "ancient of days" to the angels, you make 



145 

the angels give to the Savior this dominion and glory, 
and this everlasting kingdom, which shall never be de- 
stroyed. I think it will puzzle my friend Mr. Stephenson, 
with all his talent for mystification and special pleading, 
to show how any one can give to another that which he 
does not himself possess. I think he knows very well 
that the angels are not the possessors of all these things. 
What, then, is the true meaning of all this ? The simple 
idea is, that when Christ ascended to the skies, attended 
by his angelic escort, the voice of the Eternal Father is 
heard, saying to him, "-Because thou hast loved righteous- 
ness and hated iniquity, therefore sit thou on my right 
hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool." Then it was, 
after his resurrection from the grave, and his ascension 
into heaven, that there was given unto him dominion and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and lan- 
guages should serve and obey him. 

I wish, in the next place, to examine my opponent's 
reading of the 14th v£rse of the 3d chapter of Joel : 

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision : for 
the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." 

Look at the 16th verse of the same chapter : 

"The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his 
voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth 
shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his people, 
and the strength of the children of Israel." 

Observe the first clause of the verse before us. " The 
Lord also shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from 
Jerusalem." This was to be at the time of Christ's per- 
sonal appearing at Jerusalem. His kingdom was to be 
there established — when that kingdom was set up then 
Christ would roar out of Zion and utter his voice from 
Jerusalem. 

But the remainder of the verse goes on to state: "But 
the Lord at that time, will be the hope of his people, and 
the strength of the children of Israel." Here my oppo- 
nent must change sides once more. He inquired if we 
could hope for anything that we already had ? At the 
time here spoken of in the 3d chapter of Joel, we are told 
10 



140 

that the Lord will be the hope of his people. Now unless 
a man can hope for what he already possesses my friend 
is in a very bad situation just here. Do you recollect 
his asking me, if we already were in possession of the 
kingdom, why we still professed to be hoping for it? May 
1 not with equal propriety ask him why he continues to 
hope for all this which is so manifestly fulfilled in the 
past. In the same manner 1 might go on and show his 
inaccuracy in many other passages. 

In Hebrews, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th chapters, Paul de- 
scribes the priesthood of Christ. My friend admitted that 
if Christ is now a priest after the order of Melchisedek, 
he is now upon his throne. Go with me to Zechariah 6th 
chapter and 13th verse and you will find that " he shall 
be a priest upon his throne/' Then i!l he is now a priest 
after the order of Melchisedek, he is a priest now upon 
his throne. This will speedily settle the entire contro- 
versy. What says the apostle Paul in regard to this mat- 
ter? Speaking of Christ he says in first verse of the Sth 
chapter of Hebrews, " We have such an high priest, who 
is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in 
the heavens." And in the 5th chapter and the 10th verse 
he says of him, that he was "called of God, an high priest 
after the order of Melchisedek." He does not say after 
the order of Aaron, but "after the order of Melchisedek.*' 
Again we find the same thought presented no less clearly 
in the 11th verse of the 7th chapter. 

"If therefore perfection were by the Lcvitical priest- 
hood, (for under it the people received the law,) what 
further need was there that another priest should rise 
after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called alter the 
order of Aaron F 

Thus far through the whole discussion my friend has 
viewed Christ as a priest after the order of Aaron and 
not at all after the order of Melchisedek. But mark the 
language of the apostle, "If therefore perfection were by 
the Levitical priesthood what further need was there that 
another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedek, 
and not be called after the order of Aaron ?" Now Mr. 



147 

Stephenson and Paul differ, for Mr. Stephenson make? 
Christ a priest after the order of Aaron ; Paul, after that 
of Melchisedek. There is not a solitary hint or intima 
tion in the whole Bible of the Messiah being anything 
but a priest after the order of Melchisedek, but on the 
contrary, everything that bears upon the matter at all 
goes to preclude any such idea entirely. Look at the ex- 
pression before us, and with this plain and clear language 
in view, I will ask my friend Mr. Stephenson to show us 
an expression if he can, anywhere in the Bible, showing 
the Messiah to have ever been anything else but a Mel- 
chisedekian priest, from the first verse of Genesis to the 
last " amen " of Revelations. 

But a priest must have something to offer. When he 
therefore approached the priestly office he offered himself 
— his own body and blood and he offered it once for all. 
Now, if Christ is now a priest after the order of Aaron 
lie will have nothing to offer when he shall come again to 
become a priest after the order of Melchisedek, unless. 
indeed, my friend would persuade us that he is going to 
die again. The simple truth is that Christ is not now an 
Aaronic but a Melchisedekian priest. It follows there- 
fore that there is no other sacrifice^ needed. But if Christ 
is yet to enter upon his office as a Melchisedekian priest 
what is the next offering to be ? He must do one of two 
things — either he must die again in order to provide him- 
self an offering, or he must present the singular anomaly 
of a priest without an offering the next time he becomes 
a priest. This whole thought of Christ's filling the office 
two different kinds of priesthood is sheer nonsense and 
gross error, having not a word of authority within the 
lids of the Bible. 

The Savior's origin, according to the flesh, engaged my 
friend's attention to a considerable extent. What was 
that origin ? Answer — It was through David, from the 
tribe of Judah. Now, the tribe of Judah was prohibited 
by law from furnishing any one for the priesthood. 
Christ belonged to that tribe ; he could not, therefore, be 
a priest while on earth. He came from the kingly tribe, 



148 

and consequently he could fill no order nor office what- 
ever, but one of a kingly nature. Paul says he was of 
the tribe of Judah, and John says he was "the lion of the 
tribe of Judah." 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON— NINTH SPEECH. 

I wish, in the first place, to notice a few of the more 
prominent positions assumed by my opponent, and will 
then pass on to a survey of the subject before us. 

He tells us that there is between the lids of the Bible 
no where a solitary promise on the part of the Almighty 
to restore Israel a third time. In reply to that I would 
simply remind him, that there has never been to this day 
a restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel. There ia no 
such statement in the Bible, nor do we find any evidence 
or record of anything of the kind upon the pages of pro- 
fane history. The restoration promised — the restoration 
spoken of by the prophets — is a general restoration of 
the whole house of Israel. It was only Judah and Ben- 
jamin, and a small remnant of the ten tribes that returned 
from the captivity in Babylon. In the day here spoken 
of in the 11th chapter of Isaiah, the wolf shall lie down 
and sleep side by side with the tender lamb, and the 
leopard shall lie down by the kid, and the calf and the 
young lion shall feed together, and a little child shall 
lead them. There shall be nothing to hurt nor destroy 
in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord, for the earth 
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters 
cover the sea. There shall be one wide and universal 
peace in that day. Then it is in that day " the Lord shall 
set his hand to recover the remnant of his people which 
shall be left." "And then shall he set up an ensign for 
the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, 
and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the 
four corners of the earth-" This is the 12th verse that 1 
have just read. And then it goes on and enumerates the 






149 

various nations out of which the remnant of the Lord's 
people shall be brought up to the land of Palastine. It 
calls them by their ancient names, Assyria, Egypt, Path- 
ros, Gush, Elam, Shinar and Hamath, and "from the 
islands of the sea." This is precisely the same thing that 
is prophesied in Ezekiel, 37th chapter, where the children 
of Israel are represented as being taken from among the 
heathen Whither they are gone, and gathered in gii every 
side and brought into their own land, and the two na- 
tions, Israel and Judah, united into one nation in the 
land upon the mountains of Israel, never more to be 
plucked up thence, but to dwell forever in the land, and 
to be greatly multiplied. And we are told that one king 
shall rule over them, and that the covenant of the Lord 
shall be with them for evermore. Here, then, is a prom- 
ise that has never yet been fulfilled, and which will be at 
last fulfilled in the restoration of the whole house of Israel 
to their own land, the land of Palastine ; and when once re- 
stored to that land, they shall never more be plucked up. 
My opponent places a great deal of stress upon the 
statement that all nations are to be gathered together in 
the last days when Christ comes. 1 say amen to that with 
all my heart. Turn to Zechariah xiv : I, 2, 13, 14, for the 
proof: " Behold, the clay of the Lord cometh, and thy 
spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will 
gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the 
city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women 
ravished ; and half of the city shall go forth into captiv- 
ity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from 
the city. And it shall come to pass in that day that a great 
tumult from the Lord shall be among them," (referring to 
the time when all nations shall be gathered together 
against Jerusalem,) " and they shall lay hold every one 
on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up 
against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah shall fight, 
and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be 
gathered together, gold and silver and apparel in great 
abundance." x\nd those who shall survive this tumult 
in which every mans' hand shall rise against his neighbor, 



150 

will be smitten with plagues. And after all these nations 
that have gathered themselves together against Jerusa- 
lem shall be overthrown, what shall then take place? 
t; And it shall come to pass," says the 16th verse, "that 
every one that is left of all the nations which came up 
against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to 
worship the king, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the 
feast of tabernacles." Joel iii : 1, 2 : " For, behold, in 
those clays, and in that time, when I shall bring again 
the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather 
all nations, and will bring them down into the vallej" of 
Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my peo- 
ple and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scat- 
tered among the nations, and parted my land." These 
are that part of the nations that did not come up against 
Jerusalem — those of them that staid at home — they shall 
come up from year to year to worship the King of Je- 
rusalem, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. After 
Christ's coming, and the overthrow and destruction of 
the armed hosts of the nations, there shall be a period of 
probation for those left at home, and the commandment 
of the Lord will go forth to them from Jerusalem, and 
they will come up to the holy city to keep the feast and 
to worship the King. 

But the identical men who pierced ^Christ, my opponent 
says, are to be there. Did I not refer you to the seven- 
teen nations, the representatives of whom were assem- 
bled together at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, to 
whom Peter declared, "Ye have crucified the Prince of 
Life?" — and did I not show you that that assertion could 
be no more true, taken in a literal sense, than the expres- 
sion, "they shall look upon him whom they have pierced." 
I ask again, did those men to whom Peter was talking 
personally, crucify Christ? I showed you that these two 
expressions are to be interpreted in precisely the same 
manner. Neither of them could be true, taken literally ; 
but just in the same sense, that the men whom Peter was 
addressing had crucified Christ, the men who shall be 
living on the earth, the Jewish nation of that day, shall 



151 

look upon liim they have pierced. The men who had per- 
sonally crucified Christ were of the same nation with 
those whom Peter was addressing, and the men who per- 
sonally pierced him belonged to the same nation that 
they will belong to who shall look upon Christ, "whom 
they pierced," at his second coming. This is the whole 
truth in regard to that matter. 

The preposition gis, as I think I have stated before, is 
translated by "for" one hundred times in King James' 
translation of the New Testament, George Campbell 
renders eis> in the passages relating to baptism, by "in 
order to." I have taken pains to note down ninety 
places in which the preposition eis is rendered into 
English "for." The primary signification of the word is 
not in all cases applicable, and it is often used with con- 
siderable latitude of meaning. 

The word "metestesen " which is rendered in the passage 
quoted by my friend "translated," is twice rendered into 
English "translate," and twice into "change." Of the 
latter interpretation we have an example in the 12th verse 
of the 7th chapter of Hebrews : "For the priesthood be- 
ing changed, there is made of necessity a change also of 
the law." The Greek Lexicon and Englishman's Concord- 
ance of the New Testament, also renders it "change." In 
the 11th chapter of Hebrews, in reference to Enoch, it is 
rendered '"translated." This passage, and the one quoted 
by Mr. Russell, are the only two instances in which the 
word is rendered into English by the word "translate;" 
and in two instances the same orignal word is translated 
"change." A literal translation from the original would 
read, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, 
and hath changed us for the Son of his love." 

Campbell's translation is good authority with Disciples. 
Where we read that John baptized in Jordan for the re- 
mission of sins, he renders eis "in order to," thus : "in 
order to the remission of sins." He thus renders it in 
Acts, 2:38, " Repent and be baptized in order to the re- 
mission of.sins." We may translate eis "for" or "in or- 



152 

dee, to," thus : " Who hath translated us for, or in order 
to, the kingdom." 

My opponent seemed to suppose that lie had made a 
splendid point, in reference to the language, "the ancient 
of days." I think I said distinctly that a celebrated He- 
brew scholar, a man fully qualified to give an intelligent 
opinion on the point, said that the word might be either 
singular or plural. The word in the Hebrew that occurs 
in this passage, and that is translated "ancient of days," 
is not the only word of which the same remark may be 
made, by any means ; Eloiiim is another. In the L'Oth 
verse of the 1st chapter of Genesis, we read, "And Eloiiim 
said, Let us make man in our own image, after our like- 
ness." In the following verse we read : " So God created 
man in his own image ; in the image of God created lie 
him; male and female created he them." Here we have 
a noun in the plural, and a personal pronoun in the sin- 
gular used in place of it, and verbs both singular and plu- 
ral agreeing with it. 

In reference to my opponent's statements in regard to 
what he calls the impossibility of the angels giving the 
glory and dominion and kingdom to Christ. I would sim- 
ply say that arfgels are the power by whose means and 
through whose instrumentality the great God has Icon 
pleased to govern the world. And Paul says, in Hebrews. 
2d chapter and 5th verse: "For unto the angels hath he 
not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we 
speak?" Here we see it clearly taught that at Christ's 
second advent, as in the formation and the government 
of the world thus far, angels will perform an important 
part. When the Prince of Persia (i) contended with the 
Angel Gabriel twenty-one days, (Dan., 10:13) he recog- 
nized this fact, for he supposed the angel was interfering 
with his affairs. The intelligent reader of the Word of 
God can not fail to be convinced that God, while lie is 
the so-vereign ruler of the universe, has, always, when he 
interposed in the affairs of this world, employed ang 
his instrumentalities. 



153 

But I have not time to notice all the little objections 
that my opponent throws across the path of truth m this 
discussion. I cannot conceive what his object is in pur- 
suing such a course, unless it is merely for the purpose 
of compelling me to consume my time in removing them 
out of my way, in order that I may not have sufficient 
leisure to attend to the more material and important 
parts of the discussion. 

I will call your attention, however, to the position he 
took in reference to his " kingdom" — the Church. In his 
kingdom there are but three elements, — first, a king; 
second, subjects ; and third, laws. He has no territory, 
no capital, no cabinet, it is an anomaly among king- 
doms. He has shorn it of nearly all the elements of any 
kingdom that has ever existed, and still persists in call- 
ing it a "kingdom." It has no royalty, no cabinet, no 
civil power. It has no power at all but such as is 
purely ecclestiastical. It is supremely ridiculous to call 
such a thing as that a "kingdom." 

But my opponent wanted to prove to us that there were 
subjects submitting themselves to the laws of his kingdom 
on the day of Pentecost. Peter told the assembled mul- 
titudes to repent and be baptized, he says, and they did 
so, and that proves that they were loyal subjects of his 
kingdom. But were they Christians before they- obeyed? 
They could not be said to be subjects of his kingdom 
until they were taken into the church and they obeyed 
before they were taken in. If to obey the command of 
Peter to repent and be baptized be made the proof of 
their loyalty as subjects, it must be shown that they were 
subjects at the time the command was given. They 
should have been first made the subjects of the kingdom, 
and then to given proof of their being loyal subjects after- 
ward. 

Let us read the 13th and 14th verses of the 7th chapter 
of Daniel : "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one 
like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near 
before him. And there was given him dominion, and 



154 

glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan- 
guages, should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting 
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom 
that which shall not be destroyed." 

Again I ask my opponent this question: Was thi 
phecy tulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, \ Did all nations 
serve and obey Jesus Christ at that time '. lie has proven 
that three thousand persons were added to the church 
under the preaching of the apostles a1 that time; but 
were they "all nations?' 1 There is no man nor woman 
here who does not know better than that. But thi- 
all that was to occur at that time— the time when the 
vSon of Man came to the Ancient of Days. There was 
given unto him at that time dominion and glory and a 
kingdom. Again I ask the question: Was dominion and 
glory and a kingdom given to him on the Day of Pente- 
cost? and did all nations and people and languages serve 
and obey ? 

We have before us, in this same chapter, an account of 
Daniel's vision of the four great beasts that came up out 
of the sea, representing four universal empires of the 
world. The fourth beast was Rome. In the 18th v. 
is said that "the saints of the Most High shall take the 
kingdom (i. e. 'the fourth kingdom of earth/ 23d verse) 
and possess it forever." Was this fulfilled on the Day of 
Pentecost? Did the saints of God take Rome ? and will 
they possess it forever? On the contrary, Rome took the 
church and dispersed its broken and shattered elements 
among the nations of earth. Rome broke in pieces the 
■church, instead of the church breaking Rome. 

The prophet said to King Nebuchadnezzar, in explain- 
ing to him the vision of the great image that he had seen 
in a dream: "Whereas thou sawest the feet and 
part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall 
be divided." He does not say "kingdoms." but k ' th 

shall be divided." Only one of the four kingdoms, 
represented by the four beasts in the vision of Daniel, 
existed at any one time. They were all universal em- 
pires. It does not follow, however, that there was only 



155 

one kingdom after the kingdom represented by the fourth 
beast was divided. On the contrary, the very idea of 
division implies that from that period on there must have 
been at least two kingdoms. My opponent's point here, 
as you very well recollect, was that the words," in the 
days of these kings," Daniel ii: 44, refer to the last rulers 
of the Roman Empire. I expect to show you that, on the 
contrary, the demonstrative adjective "these," in the4-lth 
verse, refers to the kings who were to rule over the na- 
tions into which the Roman Empire was divided — that it 
is in their days that the God of Heaven shall set up a 
kingdom. These kingdoms were to be partly strong and 
partly weak, as indicated by the fact that while some of 
the toes of the great image were of iron, part were of 
miry day. It is u in the days of these kings." The ad- 
jective "these" denotes the last in the series of kings. 
Rome had ceased to be a consolidated empire at the time 
indicated by the iron and the clay — viz.: when Rome was 
in its divided state. 

Now, when was Rome, divided? That nation was in 
the zenith of its glory at the time of the birth of Christ, 
raid at the day of pentecost. I have in my hand an au- 
thentic history, from which I propose to read to you in 
regard to the time at which Rome was divided, as repre- 
sented by the toes of iron and clay ; after which division 
the kingdom spoken of in Daniel,'2d chapter and 44th 
verse, must have been set up. We find in the history of 
that age no clay mingled with the iron which was so ap- 
propriate an emblem of the powerful and despotic empire 
of ancient Rome, until three hundred and fifty years after 
the day of pentecost, I will read from page 38 to the close 
the first paragraph of page 39 of the "History of Revolu- 
tions in Europe " : 

" Constantine the Great, was the first of the emperors 
that embraced Christianity, and made it the established 
religion of the state in 324. He quitted the city of Rome, 
the ancient residence of the Csesars, and fixed his capital 
at Byzantium, in 330, which took from him the name of 
Constantinople. Anxious to provide for the security of 



156 

his new capital, he stationed the flower of his legions in 
the East, dismantled the frontiers on the Rhine and the 
Danube, and dispersed into the province s and towns, the 
troops who had heretofore encamped on the borders of 
these great rivers. In this way he" secured the peace and 
tranquility of the interior, and infused, for a time, a new 
vigor into the government; but he committed a great 
mistake in giving the first example of making a formal 
division of the state between his sons, without regard to ■ 
the principle of unity and indivisibility which his prede 
cessors had held sacred. It is true, this separation Was 
not of long continuance ; but it was renewe 1 afterwards 
by Theodosius the Great, who finally divided the empire 
between his two sons in the year 395; Arcadius had the 
eastern, and Honoring the western pari of the empire. 
This latter comprehended Italy, Gaul, Britain, Spain, 
Northern Africa, Ehetia, Vindelicia, Noricum, Pannonia, 
and Illyria. It was during the reign of Honorius, and 
under the administration of his minister, Stilicho, thai the 
memorable invasion of the barbarians happened, which 
was followed shortly after, by the destruction of the Wes- 
tern Empire." 

All the predecessors of Constantine the Great, for three 
hundred years, had held sacred the unity of Rome. lie. 
dying in the middle of the fourth century, was the fii 
all the emperors who divided his empire between his 
sons. Let us read on a little further: 

"Several of the Emperors, guided by a Bhort-sighted 
policy, had received into their pay several battalions of 
foreigners ; and to recompense their services, had as- 
signed them settlements in the frontier provinces of the 
empire. Thus the Franks obtained, by way of compensa- 
tion, territories in Belgic Gaul ; while similar grants were 
made in Pannonia and in Thrace, to the Vandals, .Mans. 
Goths, and other barbarians. This liberality of the E< m- 
ans, which was a true mark of weakness, together with 
the vast numbers of these troops which they employed in 
their wars, at length accustomed the barbarians to regard 
the empire as their prey. Towards the close of the year 



157 

40(5, tliQ Vandals, the Suevi, and the Alans, sounded the 
tocsin of that famous invasion which accelerated the 
downfall of the Western empire. The example of these 
nations was soon followed by the Visigoths, the Burgun- 
dians, the Alemanns, the Franks, the Huns, the Angles, 
the Saxons, the Heruls, the Ostrogoths, and the Lom- 
bards. All these nations, with the exception of the Huns, 
were of German origin. " 

There you have the first division of the Roman empire 
that ever was made. It was after that time that the God 
of heaven was to set up his kingdom which was to endure 
forever. 

My opponent says a stone and mountain, in prophetic 
language, mean the same thing; and both the stone and 
the mountain mean his kingdom, the Church. But you 
recollect that it says the stone became a great mountain. 
Now is it true that a stone and a mountain are the same? 
Is not one local and the other universal? To talk of a 
mountain becoming a mountain, is sheer nonsense. How 
is his kingdom to grow into a mountain if it was a moun- 
tain at first ? 

In reference to the 110th Psalm, I have proved over 
and again, that the Father will make Christ's foes his 
footstool, by investing him with authority to reign over 
them. For you to make a footstool for me, and for me to 
place my foot upon it, are two entirely different things. 
It is the Father who is to prepare Christ's footstool, but 
it will be left for Christ himself to put his foot upon it, by 
subduing and treading down his enemies. The Father 
makes the foes of Christ his footstool by making him 
their ruler, and then shall he rule them with a rod of iron 
— he shall dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel. 

The adverb " until " limits the time specified. Speaking 
of Christ, the Apostle Peter said, (Acts, 3d chapter, 21st 
verse,) "Whom the heavens must receive until t\\Q times 
of the restitution of all things." If I should say that you 
should detain me here untill to-morrow, would, you un- 
derstand from that that I w r as to stay here forever ? Cer- 
tainly not. If Christ were to stay forever at the right 



158 

hand of the Father in heaven, the Apostle would not 
have used that word "until." It shows beyond a shadow 
of doubt that the time is to come when he will remain 
there no longer. Head the 23d verse of the 15th chapter 
of 1st Corinthians : 

"But every man in his own order: Christ the firsl 
fruits; afterward they that are Christ's ai ins coinin 

I demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that 1 1n- 
same original word is used in both eases, thus : "Christ 
the first fruits after they that are his ai his coming." 
"After the end." He does not inform us how long after 
his coming the end will be, but he assures us that it will 
be subsequently to his coming, and the resurrection of 
the righteous dead. He also tells us that it shall cover 
the period of his reign, until lie shall have Bubdu 
destroyed all his enemies, the last of which will be death. 
At the end, after this event, he delivers up the kingdom 
to his Father. 

The great event here spoken of is to come to 
pass, when? "After" his coming. This period may 
as well therefore embrace a thousand years as any 
other period. How long is to be the period in which 
Christ shall reign ? What is to be the duration of 
his kingdom? Turn to 2d Peter, 3d chapter: "One 
day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day/' Here we have the "day 
of the Lord" as a thousand years. Paul, in Acts, 17th 
chapter and 31st verse, says: "lie hath appointed a 
day in which he will judge the world by that man whom 
he hath ordained." "He has i L tin day." How 

long will Christ rule the world \ ? See Rev- 

elations, 20th chapter and 4th . •< re John tells as 

that he saw thrones, and they sat upon them: and that 
judgment was given unto them; anil that he saw the 
souls of them that had not worshipe I th i beast nor his 
image; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thous- 
and years. And in the 6th verse, the same period is re- 
peated : 

"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first res- 



159 

direction : on such the second death hath no power, but 
they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign 
with him a thousand years." 

The "day of the Lord 11 will be a period of a thousand 
years. At the commencement of that period all the 
righteous dead will be brought up out of their graves, and 
all the righteous living will be changed, and they will 
"live and reign with Christ a thousand years." 



AFF.— P. T. KUSSELL.-TExNTH SPEECH. 

Things new and wonderful are rapidly accumulating 
upon our hands as we approach the end of the discussion. 
Let us look at some of them. 

In the first place I direct attention to my opponent's 
allusion to Acts 3d chapter, where the language occurs : 
" Whom the heavens must receive,' 1 or, if you please " re- 
tain " "until the times of the restitution of all things, 
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy pro- 
phets since the world began." Now, it so happens, that 
one of Israel's old prophets did speak of the doing away 
of the present heaven and the present earth, and the 
ushering in of new heavens and a new earth — and if it is 
a fact that the adverb "until" marks the time during 
which Christ shall be retained at the right hand of the 
Father, then it is certain that he is to be retained there 
until the hew heavens and the new earth shall be brought 
in ; and if he is retained there until that time he cannot 
reign, nor can my friend Mr. Stephenson or those who 
are of the like faith reign with him a thousand years be- 
fore that time. 

Another point which my friend attempted to make in 
his last speech on yesterday, I think it was — it was in re- 
lation to the new Jerusalem — the city which John says 
he saw descending from God out of heaven, and which 
the righteous are to enter. He had the righteous all 



160 

inside as you recollect, and the wicked all without In- 
side all are kings. As I asked before, I repeat the inquiry 
— who are those kings that are without the walls to reign 
over? For although the gates of this city were to remain 
open night and day, yet at the same time no rlghteoui 
person within was to be permitted to go out, nor was any 
of the wicked who were without to be permitted to go in 
and that being the case I cannot see how they are going 
to rule the rebels who are without the gates of th< 
any more than the United States government could have 
ruled the rebellious people of the South, if they had not 
sent their armies down there into the rebellous si 
compel them to submission. 

In Revelations 21st chapter and 27th verse it is said 
that "there shall nowise enter into it," that is I 
into the city ; "anything that defileth, neither whal 
worketh abomination or maketh a lie/' Here it is c vi- 
dent that none of the outsiders can come into the city at 
all. Turn now to the 3d chapter of Revelations and let 
us see if any of the insiders can get out. I will read the 
12th verse of the chapter or a part of it. w 'IIim that 
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my ( rod, 
and he shall no more (/o out.'" And yet the doors of the 
city stand open all the time. Why are the doors open 
thus continually and yet neither the wicked can get in to 
drive the righteous out, nor the righteous can get out to 
whip the wicked in? There is a good deal of improba- 
bility in this view of the city to say the leas!. 

And now we must pass to look at some other mat tors. 
In his last speech my friend seems to have misinterpreted 
what I said in regard to the priesthood of Christ. I did 
not deny that Christ was the great anti-type prefigured 
by the Aaronic priesthood, but I did deny that he was 
filling any other priestly office than that of a Melchise- 
dekian priest. The Aaronic priesthood was typical of 
the Melchisedekian, which Chrisl is now fulfilling at the 
right hand of the majesty on high. 

I now desire to give a brief survey of the entire sub- 
ject which is before us. In the first place the elements of 



161 

a kingdom are clearly and repeatedly presented to our 
minds throughout the entire range of those portions of 
Holy Scripture which bear upon this subject. The 
'* throne " of God is often spoken of. The Lord is said to 
be " the king, eternal, immortal and invisible." The orig- 
inal kingdom and dominion of God was overthrown so 
Ear as the government of our race was concerned when 
sin came into the world. The divine government being 
thus overthrown by the rebellion of his subjects, a me- 
dium of communication was afterward opened up between 
the throne and the rebels, God taking the initiation in 
the negotiations and keeping the intercourse up through 
his prophets down to the coming of Christ, From the 
day of Pentecost down, every man who accepted of sal- 
vation upon the terms of the gospel has been in the king- 
dom of God. Before that time the righteous upon earth 
occupied a position not unlike that of a citizen of the 
United States, who was down in Rebeldom during the 
war, where there was no government in force. 

John the Baptist and the Apostles came in the capacity 
of provost marshals whose business it was to take men 
out from under the dominion of the rebellion against the 
authority of God, and admit them to the privileges of 
citizenship in his kingdom »n the terms of obedience. 
During the rebellion the provost marshals were continu- 
ally employed in taking men out from under the ban of 
the rebellion, upon their taking the oath of allegiance to 
the government — in other words " translating" them into 
the government of the United States, although that gov- 
ernment was not yet re-established in an organic form 
within the limits of the territory in which they lived. In 
the 31st verse of the 21st chapter of Matthew, Christ told 
some of the chief priests and elders of the Jewish peo- 
ple, that the publicans and harlots would go into the 
kingdom of heaven sooner than they. And again, in the 
23d chapter and 13th verse he says : 

" But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! 
for ye that shut up the kingdom of heaven against men ; 



162 

for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them 
that are .entering to go in." 

The Savior was at that time preparing to set up his 
kingdom in an organic form and nil men were commanded 
to come into it — to take the oath of allegiance to 
Heaven's King and become subjects to Messiah's r< ign, 
and many were obeying the call — and hence the language 
to which reference has just been made. That kingdom 
was shortly to be set up — Christ was to be a priest forever 
after the order of Melchisedek — such a priest he could 
not be unless he was a king upon his throne. Paul de- 
clares that he is now a priest after the order of Melchise- 
dek ; consequently he is now, and was when Paul wrote, 
upon his throne — the throne of his kingdom which was 
established on the day of Pentecost, at the city of .Jeru- 
salem — when the law was proclaimed from Mount Zion — 
when thousands submitted themselves to that law and 
were made subjects of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Remember the fact that I have repeatedly chal- 
lenged my opponent to produce a single chapter or verse 
anywhere within the lids of the Bible, going to show that 
Christ was to be a priest after the order of Melchisedek 
at any other time than when he was upon his throne. lie 
admitted that Christ must h% a high priest after the order 
of Melchisedek when he is upon his throne. Paul says 
he is now such an high priest — therefore as a natural con- 
sequence he is now upon his throne. There is no inten- 
tion in the Bible anywhere of his ever being a pri 
the order of Melchisedek, except when he is on his 
throne. 

We now call your attention to some other matters in 
connection with this important, subject. Turn, if you 
please, to the first chapter of the epistle of .James, and 
first verse. I will read this verse for the sake of the 
bearing it has upon the question of the identity of the 
u twelve tribes" of whom the apostle makes mention, 
with the true followers of Christ. - 

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, 



163 
to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greet- 



57 



ing. 

Here James is writing to something which lie calls 
"the twelve tribes," and says to them in the verses which 
immediately follow, k 'My brethren, count it all joy, 
when you fall into grievous temptations ; knowing this, 
that the trying of your faith worketh patience." 

Take this language in connection with Acts, 26th chap- 
ter, 6th and 7th verses : 

"And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the 
promise made of God unto our Fathers : unto which 
promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and 
night, hope to come : for which hope's sake, King Agrippa,. 
I am accused of the Jews." 

Here once more I put the plain, simple question to my 
opponent — Is literal Israel serving God now day and 
•night? Were they doing so when James wrote? Were 
they doing so when they Avere clamoring for the life of 
the Savior, and imbruing their hands in the blood of his 
disciples? Certainly not. The apostle, however, is talk- 
ing about an Israel that was serving God truly. The 
11th chapter of the epistle to the Romans has been 
brought forward. Let us examine it, and see what is said 
there about literal Israel : 

"What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he 
seekethfor; but the election hath obtained it; and the 
rest were blinded. (According as it is written, God hath 
given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should 
not see, and ears that they should not hear;.) unto this 
dajr. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, 
and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense 
unto them : let their eyes be darkened that they may not 
see, and bow down their back alway." 

If literal Iisrael is ever to be restored, then this lan- 
guage cannot be true. You will have to go to the other 
end of "always " before you can find the time when they 
are to be brought back from their rebellion and apostacy. 
In the 11th verse, immediately following the passage I 
have read, Paul says : 



164 

"I say, then, Have they stumbled that they should fall \ 

God forbid: but rather through (heir fall salvation is 
come unto the Gentile, for to provoke them to jealousy." 

Here we have already presented the final fall of literal 
Israel. Why did they fall ? Because of unbelief. How 
can they be brought back ? They must first believe in 
the Messiah before they can receive favor at his hand. 
Literal Israel is spoken of as falling away from God, 
through unbelief. See what a contrast there is between 
literal Israel as presented to us here, and the Israelite 
indeed, as described in Romans, 2d chapter, 2Sth and 29th 
verses : 

" For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly ; neither 
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh : but he 
is a Jew which is one inwardly: and circumcision is thai 
of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose 
praise is not of men, but of God.' 1 

Here we have literal Israel, Israel after the flesh, con- 
trasted most strikingly with something else called by the 
same name, Israel. 

And while we are on this point, go with me i. 
Corinthians, 10th chapter and 18th verse : 

u Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat 
of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? " 

Here we have a vivid contrast between Israel after 
the flesh and Israel after the spirit. Here we have a stub- 
born fact, showing that two wholly dissimilar things are 
named "Israel." 

The time of Israel's possession of the land of Palestine, 
as promised by the prophets, at the time when they were 
driven out of it by the Roman power, and from that time. 
or till the second coming of Christ, will be the ''times 
of the Gentiles." By the Gentiles will the land of Pal- 
estine be trodden down until the day when he comes, and 
then, at the time of his coming, the elements shall melt 
with fervent heat, the heavens are to be rolled together 
as a scroll, and the world, and all the works that are in it, 
are to be burned up. The earth and heavens — this whole 
visible frame is to pass away with a great noise, and a 



165 

new heaven and a new earth are to take the places 
thereof, and in the midst of the new earth is to be 
formed the city of the Great King — the great capital of 
the Kingdom of the saints, which comes down from God 
out of heaven. It is not to be formed upon this sin 
cursed globe of ours. 

.Let us follow this thought a little further. Go with me 
to the 24th chapter of Matthew, and 29th verse: 

"Immediately after the tribulation of those.days shall 
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her 
light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers 
of the heavens shall be shaken." 

This plain and unequivocal language, that right after 
the "tribulation of those days" the wonders and signs 
that are but a prelude to the end of all things upon this 
sublunary sphere, shall display themselves, cuts off all 
idea oi the intervention of the period of a thousand 
years. Read the next verse : 

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in 
heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, 
and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds 
of heaven with power and great glory. " 

The tribulation of the days here spoken of is to roll on 
in an unbroken current until the son of man shall come 
again, " without a sin offering unto salvation," and all the 
holy angels with him, to reward every man according to 
his works. We have therefore good reason to declare 
the truth boldly, and without the fear of successful con- 
tradiction, that the times of the Jews, the times within 
which they were to possess the land of Palestine, expired 
when they were driven from that land by the Roman 
power, and that the Gentiles will continue to have con- 
trol of that land as they now have, until the second ap- 
pearing of the Son of man to judge the quick and the 
dead, when all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, when 
" they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds 
of heaven with power and great glory." 

Look at the language of the 37th verse, and on : 

"But as the days of Noe icere, so shall also the coming 



16fi 

of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were be- 
fore tiie flood they were eating and drinking, marrying 
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered 

into the ark, and knew not until the Hood came, and took 
them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of 
man be." 

All the rebels against God in that day, will find to their 
sorrow, that instead of having another thousand years 
probation, as my friend supposes, they will be swept as 
with the besom of destruction. Mark (lie force of the 
comparative term "so" — As it was in the unx- of Noe, "so" 
shall it be when the Son of man shall come; 

Pass now in confirmation of this truth to the testimony 
of Luke as contained in his Gospel, 21st ( 'haptor and 25th 
verse and on: 

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, 
and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations, 
with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring; men's 
hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those 
things which are coming on the earth: for the pow< 
heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they sc e the Son 
of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.'' 

Having thus this matter placed before us in the same 
form in which we find it in the other pla< e, 1 ask on the 
testimony before us, what is the'conclusion that w. 
draw from all the premises? Let us follow the A] 
on a little further: 

" And when these things begin to come to pass, then 
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption 
draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable ; Behold 
the tig" tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth. 
ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now 
nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things 
come to x>ass, know ye that the kingdom of God i 
at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not 
pass away, till all be fulfilled." 

Here is represented the final consummation of all things 
— the time when the Son of man shall come in his dory, 
and all the holy angels with him: ami when he shall sit 



167 

upon the judgment seat, and all the si mule ring nations 
of the dead shall rise from their tcmbs and stand leicre 
him; when he shall separate the righteous from the 
wicked as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats ; 
and shall say to those upon his left hand: "Depart, ye 
cursed into everlasting fire prepared fur the devil and his 
angels,"' but to those upon his right hand, "Ccme, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom i rei aied for 
you from the foundation of the world." Andv\hile the 
word of God thus teaches us what shall take plate when 
Christ shall come, Paul adds that he shall judge the living 
and the dead at his appearing— not a thousand years 
afterward, but at his appeal ing. What must le the con- 
clusion drawn from the matters thus placed before us ? 

When John the Baptist came preaching the kfngdem oi 
God, he said that kingdom was at Land. The Savior, just 
a little while before his crucifixion said the same thing. 
Now if the position which my opponent assumes is true, 
then it is plain that the second coming of Christ, and the 
date of the setting up of his kingdom must have been 
equally distant in point of time when Christ Was upon 
earth, and when John preached, "Eepent,for the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand." And in the light of this truth I 
again put to my opponent this plain and simple question: 
Could Christ and John tell the truth and say that the 
kingdom of heaven was at hand, if it were contempora- 
neous with the second coming of Christ? The kingdom 
of God — the same identical kingdom spoken of in Daniel, 
2d Chapter and 44th verse, was "nigh at hand," while we 
know very well that the second advent of Christ has not 
yet taken place, though eighteen centuries and more have 
elapsed since the time when Christ and Paul said the 
kingdom of heaven was "at hand." 



168 



NEG.— J. M. STEPHENSON.— TENTH SPEECH. 

It is said that "flesh and blood shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God." If the kingdom of God, as my friend 
Mr. Kussell claims, is the Disciple church, then that text 
does not tell the truth, for there is a great deal of la si) 
and blood in the Disciple church as we all know. Are 
they not composed of flesh and blood like other mortals ? 

How do my friend and his brethren read the Lord's 
prayer? Do they say "Thy church come, 1 ' instead of 
"Thy kingdom come?" If they cannot offer such a prayer 
they are not consistent in their faith. These are a few of 
the more striking beauties of Discipleism. They can 
utter this prayer in a place where they have no church. 

One of the positions assumed by my opponent was. 
that if it be true that Christ is to be retained at the right 
hand of the Father until the time of the restitution of all 
things, then he must remain there during the period of a 
thousand years mentioned by John in Revelations, and as 
a natural result he cannot reign upon the earth during 
that time. He should read it "until the times of the res- 
titution of all things," and not until the " time." He is to 
come in the times of the restitution of all things — amidst 
the closing ages of the world's history. My opponent is 
a shrewd schemer. I think he would be a very good, 
debater if he only had the truth upon his side. 

He said again that he did not deny that Christ wal an 
anti-type of Aaron. Now he acknowledges it. Hence 
we can have a priest in heaven, although we have none 
now upon the earth. 

He says that Christ is the anti-type of Melchisedeh 
according to the language of Zechariah, vi: 12-14. 

"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord 
of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The 
Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he 
shall build the temple of the Lord ; Even he shall build 
the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and 
shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and he shall be a priest 



169 

u-[ ou his throne ; and the counsel of peace shall be 
between them both." This does not say he will be a 
priest upon his throne in heaven, but when he shall be a 
priest upon his own throne. 

Turn now if you please to the 33d chapter of Jeremiah. 
15-1S verses, and notice what is there said upon that 
point. See what the prophet says about the righteous 
Branch. 

"In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch 
of righteousness to grow up unto David ; and he shall ex- 
ecute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those 
days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell 
safely : and this is the name wherewith he shall be called, 
The Lord our Righteousness. 

" For thus saith the Loud : David shall never want a 
man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ; neither 
shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer 
burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do 
sacrifice continually. 1 ' 

Either that righteous Branch is to be here upon the 
earth, to occupy the throne of David, and execute judg- 
ment and justice in the land, or the prophet was laboring 
under a mistake when he wrote this chapter. Christ is 
now upon his Father's throne and not upon his own 
throne. His own throne is the throne of his father David. 
When he shall come again he shall sit upon David's 
throne, and from that time on David shall never want a 
man to sit upon his throne — and a priest, to offer sacrifices. 
Such are the harmonious teachings of the word of God. 

My friend has a sort of a military kingdom — and the 
Apostles occupy the position of so many provost mar- 
shals empowered to bring back by force the recreants to 
their allegiance and compel them to take the oath of 
allegiance. My friend occupies the position of a chap- 
lain in this military organization of which he speaks. 
Let me ask you Mr. Eussell, are you going to pray God to 
direct the cannon balls when you fight for the kingdom 
— is that the way you are going to " take " the fourth king- 
dom, and possess it? Christ said, "My kingdom is not of 



170 

this world — if it were then would joy servants fight. In 
this age and dispensation the servants of ( I 
fight in that way. His servants wilJ not fight until his 
kingdom is set up. The word which is here translated 
"world" is kosmos, and signifies "order" or "arrange- 
ment." The Savior meant simply that his sei \ ants would 
not fight to maintain the present civil government or 
"arrangement," — kosmos means in this place simply the 
Roman Empire. "When the kingdom shall be given to 
Christ then will his servants fight to maintain it. My 
friend Mr. Russell is in the wrong position,. 

My opponent says the Jews are to 1 e trodden down and 
oppressed by the Gentiles until the second coming of 
Christ. "Until." That implies at ence that a time will 
come when they will cease to he trodden down. < 
in the 23d Chapter of Matthew tells the Jews that they 
shall not see him henceforth until the time shall come 
wh.cn they shall say, "Blessed is ho thai eometh in the 
name of the Lord." This language shows that the time is 
coming in which the Jewish people shall re] ent and turn 
unto the Lord, and the Lord will accept their repentance 
and restore them to all that they have 1< st through their 
disobedience and rebellion against God. 

My opponent tells us that, as it was in the days of Noah 
and of Lot, so shall it he in the end ( f the world. The 
bible calls Noah alone, of all who were saved, a righteous 
person. It does not appear that any other member of his 
family deserved the name. The record does not state 
what their character was. Of Lot's family, we know that 
he alone was righteous, for his wile was so disobedient 
that God turned her into a pillar of salt, and the sul s< - 
quent conduct of the two daughters shows very clearly 
that they were far from being righteous. Hence, three- 
fourths of those who were saved from the destructi 
Sodom were unrighteous, and of those who were saved 
from the deluge, six-sevenths were, for anything we know 
to the contrary, no less righteous than the others. It was 
for the sake of Noah himself that he was allowed to build 
the ark. The conduct of his son llain demonstrates that 



171 

he was not righteous. Hence, if so many persons were 
saved from destruction by the deluge, and so many from 
the destruction of the cities of the plains, who had all of 
them been unrighteous up to that very time, may we not 
infer that a portion of the wicked will be spared when 
Christ shall set up his kingdom, and that many shall sub- 
mit to his authority out of the nations of the earth, and 
shall go up to the city of Jerusalem every year to wor- 
ship the King, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles ? 

Will the great God come to earth? In the 2d Chapter 
of Titus occurs the language: " Looking for the blessed 
hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our 
Saviour Jesus Christ." The original term here rendered 
"glorious" is " doxc." It occurs in the New Testament 
about one hundred and sixty times, and in one hundred 
and forty-live times out of that number it is translated 
into English by the noun, glory, and in only seven by the 
adjective as it is in King James' translation in the pas- 
sage just read. It should be rendered, "Looking lor that 
blessed hope, and the glory of the great God and our Sav- 
ior Jesus Christ.' 1 In only seven of all the hundred and 
sixty instances in which it occurs in the New Testament, 
is this word rendered " glorious," in all the rest it is 
translated "glory." 

Why is the book of life opened, as John says in Rev- 
elations, 20th chapter and 12th verse, in connection with 
the other books out of which the dead were judged when 
they came up from the sea and from Eades? I, will 
answer the question in the light of God's word. Christ 
said, "The words that I speak unto you shall judge you 
at the last day." He sent his disciples into the world, 
telling them, "Go preach the gospel unto every creature. 
He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, but he 
that believeth not shall be damned." Damned because 
they would not believe. The names of those who be- 
lieve and obey, and afterwards apostatise, are to be blot- 
ted out from the book of life. See Kev. 3 : 5. Christ 
says, addressing his church, "He that overcometh, the 
same shall be clothed in white raiment ; and I will not 



172 

blot out his name out of the book of life." Thereby 
implying that the names of apostates shall be blotted out 
of the book of life. When a person, through faith and 
obedience, becomes an heir of immortality, his name is 
recorded in the book of life; (i. e. eternal life) but when 
he apostatizes from the faith, or its obedience, lie forfeits 
his title to eternal life, and when he shall have been 
judged he will be remanded back to death, from which 
he shall never be raised. The book of life is to be used in 
judging apostates. When a man apostatizes, his name is 
to be blotted out of the book of life. A1 what time? 1 
answer — When he stands before God in judgment, ami 
that will be at the end of a thousand years after the ((lin- 
ing of Christ. The book of life is to be opened and 
apostates are to be judged out of that book, preparatory 
to blotting out their names. It does not necessarily 
follow, however, that the faithful who overcome are 
to be raised from the dead and judged al the same 
time. Their accounts were previously settled. They are 
not the subjects of litigation. They, as has been de- 
monstrated, will be raised and rewarded a thousand years 
before. 

Suppose I keep accounts in a ledger, and at the end of 
a hundred days one class of men have paid tin. ir accounts 
— show debits and credits equal ; another class have ac- 
counts that show only debts for a long period of time. 
and no credits at all. Now when I shall close my 
books and settle up, what class of customers will be 
the subjects of litigation ? Certainly those who have not 
paid up — those who are delinquent. Will it follow thai 
when I balance my books, and give a receipt in full to 
those who have paid, that I will, at the very same time, 
prosecute all those who are delinquenl '. Not at all. The 
time of proceeding against them may be deferred until 
the end of a year. So shall it be when Christ shall come 
to judge the world. In the 20th chapter of Revelations 
John says : 

"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first re- 
surrection: on such the second death hath no power, but 



173 

lull be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign 
wiih him a thousand years.' 1 

Hence, those Avho shall be accounted worthy shall be 
raised from their graves, and shall live and reign with 
Christ a thousand years, while all the rest of the dead 
are slumbering there, and shall not be brought to account 
for a thousand years. 

If the kingdom is the church, why is the kingdom 
held out to us in the teachings of Christ and his apostles 
as the great inducement to obedience ? 

Christ came into the world to save sinners, says Paul. 
By what motive did he save sinners ? Answer — through 
the motive power of a promised kingdom. Addressing a 
multitude of sinners, he called upon them to reform. 
What great inducement did he hold out as a reason why 
they should reform ? Answer — '"And at that time Jesus 
began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand."' — Matt., 3:17. Christ was annointed 
for the specific purpose of preaching the gospel — Luke, 
4:18. What was the subject of the gospel which he every- 
where preached ? Answer — the kingdom. Listen to the 
testimony of Matthew : " And Jesus went about all the 
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and 
preaching the gospel of the kingdom." — Matt,, 9:35. Lis- 
ten also to Luke's testimony. He says : "And it came to 
pass afterward, that he went through every city and vil- 
lage, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the king- 
dom of God."— Luke, 8:1. Christ, in the lGth chapter of 
Mark, and 15th and 16th verses, commands his apostles to 
herald to the world a proposition, upon which the salva- 
tion or condemnation of a responsible world is suspended. 
What was the import of that great and sublime proclama- 
tion ? Answ r er — the gospel of the kingdom. He commis- 
sioned his apostles to go into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature, with assurance that "he 
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that 
believeth not shall be damned." In Matt., 24:14, he pre- 
dicts the fulfillment of this great gospel commission in 
the following significant language : "And this gospel of 



174 

the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a wit- 
ness unto all nations;" thus teaching, that the gospel 
which he commissioned his apostles to preach in all the 
world, and by which he proposed to save or condemn the 
world, was the gospel of the kingdom. 

But he commanded his apostles to tarry at Jerusalem 
until they should be endued with power from on high. 
Luke, xxiv: 40. They obeyed the divine injunction, and 
Peter just ten days alter the ascension of our Lord to 
heaven, stood forth on the day of Pentecost and preached 
the first gospel sermon under this great commission — the 
motive power of which was the fulfillment of the oath 
and covenant of God in placing Christ upon David's 
throne. He says at the 30th verse of the 2d chapter of 
Acts, when speaking of David : "Therefore being a prophet 
and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him 
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he 
would raise up Christ to sit upon his throne." That Peter 
does not mean the Father's throne here as my opponent 
affirms, is evident from the Oath of God recorded in the 
133d Psalm and 11th verse. "The lord hath sworn in truth 
unto David; he will not turn from it; of the fruit of 
thy body will I set upon thy (David's) throne.'' 

In the 8th chapter of Acts and 5th verse, we are told 
that Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and 
preached Christ unto them." At the 12th verse of the 
same chapter those wdio heard Philip preach, inform us 
relative to just what he preached. Listen to their testi- 
mony: "But when they believed Philip preaching the 
things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of 
Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women." 

In Acts, 20 : 25, Paul tells us what had been the whole 
theme of his preaching, up to that time — covering a period 
of more than twenty years of his ministry; he says, ad- 
dressing for the last time those beloved brethren among 
whom he had labored for years, " And now behold,— know 
that you all among whom I have gone preaching the 
kingdom of God shall see my face no more." 

The kingdom of God was the great theme of all his 



175 

preaching during the last two years of his life. The fol- 
lowing is the closing history of this great man's labors, 
" And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, 
and received all that came in unto him. Preaching the 
kingdom of God, and teaching those things which con- 
cern our Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man 
fori lidding." — Acts, xxviii : 30. 

The apostle James presents a future kingdom as the 
great theme of promise and hope to the people of God, 
thirty years after the day of Pentecost in the following 
language. 

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen 
the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the king- 
dom which he hath promised to them that love him ?" 

Peter in a* general epistle written more than thirty 
years after the day of Pentecost, holds out an abundant 
entrance into the kingdom as the subject of hope. 

"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to 
make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these 
tilings, ye shall never fail : For so an entrance shall be 
ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting king- 
dom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 

From these testimonies we learn that in all the preach- 
ing of Christ and his apostles before and after the day of 
Pentecost, the kingdom is held out as the motive power 
of the gospel. 



AFF.— P. T. RUSSELL— ELEVENTH SPEECH. 

I will in the first place call your attention to the allu- 
sion made by my friend to history. In the book of Dan- 
iel, 2d chapter, we have this language : " In the days of 
these kings," — not "those kings" — but "In the days of 
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom." 
The demonstration " these " always points to those per- 
sons or things that are more near, and the demonstration 
" those " to such as are more remote. There are but four 



176 

kings spoken of in connection with this langnage. But 

my friend, when he turned to the history, left the consid- 
eration of this passage, and turned to the 9th of Daniel, 
where occurs the account of Daniel's vision of the four 
beasts; and then he had a little to say about the ten toes 
of Nebuchadnezzar's great image. 

Let us examine a little into my friend's argument from 
history. Between the years -157 and 4S3, not only was the 
Roman empire subverted, but ten different kingdoms 
arose out of its ruins. These ten kingdoms are repre- 
sented in Daniel, 7th chapter and 24th verse, by the ten 
horns that arise from the heads of the four beasts. In 
the beginning of the sixth century, the little horn sub- 
verts three of these kingdoms. As it was in the <! 
" these kings," according to Daniel, 2d chapter and 44th 
verse, that the kingdom of the God of heaven should be 
set up, it must have been either in the time of those men- 
tioned in Daniel, 2d chapter, or those mentioned in Dan- 
iel, 7th chapter, and emblematized by the ten horns. If 
it was in the days of these ten kings, it must evi 
have been before the time when three of the ten king- 
doms were subverted; for the three being subverted, you 
have but, seven left, and consequently the prophet is 
wrong in saying that it shall be "in the days of these 
kings." 

It was to be "in the days of these kings." Where are 
the Huns to-day? Where are the Goths or the Vandals '. 
Where are the Ostragoths or the Visigoths '. The prov- 
ince of Andalusia, in Spain, is the spot where the old 
Vandal empire once stood. The nation has been blotted 
out of existence for centuries. They were, but are not. 
Where are the Lombards to-day? Echo answers— 
"where?" What was once the site of the ancient king- 
dom of Lombardy, is now but a province belonging to 
another nation. What has become of the ten nations 
into which the empire of ancient Koine was divided ( 
The waters of oblivion roil over t lie in. 

My friend attaches a great- deal of importance to his 
new rendering of Titus, 2d chapter and loth verse. If his 



177 

translation of that passage is correct, then there is no ev- 
idence at all that either the Father or the Son is going to 
appear, but only their glory. He would have it read, 
" Looking for the appearing of the glory of the great God 
and our Sarior Jesus Christ." They both remain behind 
the blue curtain, and only their glory shines out. 

There is one assertion of my friend which I must exam- 
ine with some little care. He told you that the apostles 
never (aught the doctrine of a present kingdom. Whether 
they did or not, one thing is very certain, and that is this: 
they taught the doctrine of a kingdom in which they rep- 
resented themselves and their brethren as being at that 
very time. If the gentleman will show me a place in the 
New Testament where the apostles teach the idea of a 
kingdom in which they say that they or their brethren in 
Christ, a thousand or two thousand years hence, will be, 
then I will assent to his statement that they did not teach 
a present kingdom. But if the apostle said, " We receiv- 
ing" (using the present tense) " a kingdom which can not 
be moved" — and if he told the truth, and if that kingdom 
is the same kingdom which is described in Daniel, 2d 
chapter and 44th verse, and which is called an everlasting- 
kingdom — then I claim that not only did the apostles 
teach and preach a present kingdom, but that kingdom is 
now, and ever since the day of pentecost has been, set up 
upon the earth. Paul says that he and his brethren were 
receiving that kingdom and enjoying it. He says also 
that he and his brethren had been translated out of the 
power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. 

Let us now turn and look at some other matters in con- 
nection with this subject. I want to present to your 
minds two or three contrasts. In my friend's last speech 
he took the ground that the proclamation made by John 
the harbinger, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand," and the preaching of the apostles under the great 
commission, " Go preach my Gospel to every creature,'' 
were identical. I assent that John the harbinger could 
never preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand as 
a witness. No person can be presented as a witness, nor 

12 



ITS 

can anything be introduced as evidence, unless that per- 
son or that thing is in such a position that it can be made 
the subject of examination. .John preached the kingdom 
of heaven as coming — as not yet come, but nigh at hand. 
But the apostles preached the gospel of the kingdom as 
a thing that had already come, for they preached it as 
witnesses. They preached the gospel "for a witness unto 
all nations." In the 16th and 17th verses of the 1st chap- 
ter of the Epistle to the Galatians, Paul teaches the fact 
that he was a witness of the kingdom into all men. 

Let us pause here for one moment, and ask the ques- 
tion — How were the disciples to preach the gospel of the 
kingdom ? Were they to preach it as something that was 
yet to come? or as something that has actually cornel 
Were they to preach it as something away off in the dark 
vista of the future, or as something that was accessible 
at that very time — accessible to them that heard ? Hear 
one of the same witnesses I have brought up before — 
what says the apostle? "Who hath delivered us from 
the power of darkness, and translated us into the king- 
dom of God's dear son?" Does a consistent preacher 
preach about anything in the same manner that he writes 
about it? He certainly does. The apostles wrote about 
the kingdom of heaven as a thing that had already ar- 
rived — a thing that was actually in being at the time. 
They preached the kingdom as an institution that was set 
up on the earth by the God of Heaven for the benefit, 
and for the salvation, of the very men to whom they 
preached; they represented the doors as being open to 
receive them, and they were commanded to enter in. 

I defy my opponent to find one solitary place in the 
New Testament where, after our savior's ascension on 
high, any divinely inspired writer or speaker, has over 
written or said, that the kingdom of heaven is niffTi or 
at hand. Before that time they did thus speak. Why is 
it that this is the case I The answer is simply, that up to 
that time Messiah had not been crowned king. When he 
ascended upon high he received his kingdom. 1 1 is apos- 
tles were directed to go and preach the gospel to every 



179 

creature, but to tarry at Jerusalem until they were en- 
endued with power from on high. Then came the day of 
Pentecost; the apostles received power from on high, and 
went forth preaching the gospel of a present kingdom. 
From that time forward we hear no more about the ap- 
proach of the kingdom of God. The simple reason is, 
that it had already come. 

I want now to inquire into the cause of another strik- 
ing contrast. Why were different reasons given for the 
command to repent before and after the date I have 
mentioned? John the Harbinger, commanded the peo- 
ple to repent, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
This points forward to that event as coming — as future. 
xVfter the resurrection and ascension of the Messiah, 
they point backward to the same event. In Acts, 17th 
chapter, and 30th and 31st verses, we read : 

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but 
now coramandeth all men everywhere to repent : be- 
cause he hath appointed a day, in the which he will 
judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he 
hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all 
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." 

Here Ave have a direct, perfect and complete contrast 
presented between the reasons assigned before and after 
Christ's resurrection from the dead. On the one side 
they are commanded to repent because the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand; on the other, because God has ap- 
pointed a day wherein he will judge the word in right- 
eousness. Here we have an insurmountable difficulty in 
the -way of my friend. John said repent for one reason, 
the gospel says repent for another, and very different 
reason. 

Mr. Stephenson told you that God now governs the 
world through the instrumentality of angels. For the 
sake of the argument let us suppose that to be true — ad- 
mitting it and taking the Bible to be true, at the same 
time my position still stands uncontroverted and incon- 
trovertable. For Peter says in his first epistle, chapter 
3d and in the last verse : 



180 

"Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of 
God; angels and authorities and powers being m^de sub- 
ject unto him." 

If "angels authorities and powers," all are subject to 
Christ as a natural consequence God has made him the 
king supreme ; for according to my friend, the angels 
govern the world and they are under him. This being so 
Christ is not only king supreme de jure, but he is also 
king de facto, over all and above all. Turn and read in 
connection with this thought, Colossians 1st chapter 15th, 
16th and 17th verses. 

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born 
of every creature; For by him were all things created, 
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and in- 
visible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or princi- 
palities, or powers : all things were created by him, and 
for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things 
consist." 

We find Jesus Christ then in the first place as God in 
heaven, seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, 
and clothed with the glory which he had with the Father 
before the world was, and angels authorities and powers 
made subject unto him. These words express everything 
that has power in all the universe and all it include- is 
made subject unto him. Hence Mr. Stephenson and the 
apostle taken conjointly place my affirmative position on 
a rock against which the gates of hell or hades cannot 
prevail. In this view of the case as well as in any other, 
Jesus Christ is at this very time upon his throne. He is 
at this very time KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF 
LORDS. 

Let us now take that text in the 110th Psalm in which 
we find God the Father addressing the Son and saying to 
him, "Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy 
footstool." This language is afterward quoted and com- 
mented on seven or eight times by the Apostle Paul who 
declares that he is to remain there until all his foes are 
subdued. The last foe that will be subdued is death, and 
death cannot be subdued until all ruling power is taken 



1S1 

away from him by the resurrection of the last human 
being that shall have entered death's domain — and hence 
as a natural consequence the Son is to remain at the right 
hand of the Highest, until the final consummation of all 
things. Then Paul, right in close connection with what 1 
have just quoted says that Christ is then to give up the 
kingdom to God, even the Father, that God may be all 
and in all. 



NEG.-J. M. STEPHENSON— ELEVENTH SPEECH. 

My opponent refers again to Col., 1:13. I have shown 
by the authority of Greenfield, and the Englishman's 
Greek Concordance, that the original word rendered 
"translated," signifies " to change," and may just as ap- 
propriately be applied to a repentance or change of mind; 
that it is translated changed just as often as it is trans- 
lated. I have also shown that Ihe preposition m, ren- 
dered " into," is translated into the preposition "for" in 
our common version, near one hundred times. Also that 
it is translated "in order to," by Campbell, which ought 
certainly to be good authority with my opponent. The 
following is the Dioglote translation of this verse : "Who 
hath delivered us from the dominions of darkness, and 
changed us for the kingdom of the Son of his love." 

Mr> Russell persists in quoting Rev., 1:9, to prove that 
Christians are already in the kingdom. The following 
translation of Wakefield's, removes all objections to the 
view I have presented : " I, John, your brother, and 
sharer with you in enduring the affliction of the kingdom 
of Jesus Christ, was in the island called Patmos on ac- 
count of the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus 
Christ." 

On Friday my opponent had Hades vocal with the cries 
of the damned ; on the next day he had Hades giving up 
the dead in it. During the* debate on the first question, 
Mr. Russell denied the power of God to raise dead men ; 
but in the discussion of this question he has earth, sea, 



182 

and Hades giving up their dead, and they stand as living, 
organized men in judgment. His conversion is almost too 
sudden. I have not much confidence in death-bed con- 
versions. 

Angels administer the government of God only in times 
of special interposition on the part of the great God, as in 
the flood, and the destruction of the cities of the plains. 
They will execute his judgment upon the guilty nations. 
Christ is the head of all things, Paul says to his Church, 
(Eph., 1:22). This is Paul's explanation : Christ's power 
is purely ecclesiastical. He has no civil power or regal 
glory now. He is the head of the new creation, not the 
old. As has been shown, when he comes as King of 
Kings and Lord of Lords, then he will be the head of all 
principalities and powers. The world to come will then 
be put in subjection to him. 

Mr. Russell does not pretend that we have come 1o the 
literal Mount Zion, or the Son of God. In fact it has been 
proved that when the last great whirlwind of revolution 
shall sweep from their base all the kingdoms of the 
world, that at that time the people of God will receive a 
kingdom which cannot be moved. That is the point of 
time designated by the apostle when the saints shall 
come to Zion, and shall receive an immovable kingdom. 

My opponent takes the position that Israel, which will 
be saved when Christ comes, will be spiritual Israel ; 
that there is no promise for literal Israel. Paul says, 
'"For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of 
the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but lite 
from the dead ?" — Rom., 11:15. Again he says, that par- 
tial blindness had happened to Israel until the fulness of 
the Gentiles should be come in ; and so all Israel should 
be saved. — Rom., 11:25, 26. And at the 28th verse, he 
says, "As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for 
your sakes : but as touching the election, they are be- 
loved for the Fathers' sakes." 

I have answered my opponent's position, that the king- 
dom was at hand in the days of Christ and his apostles. 
I have shown that " at hand " means the next event in the 



183 

ordinal relation of events, as well as in relation to space 
or time. 

As has been shown, five successive and universal em- 
pires are in God's appointed order to occupy the earth. 
These are Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the 
kingdom of God. Had Christ and his apostles preached 
during the existence of Babylon, they could not have 
preached the kingdom of God at hand, because Media- 
Persia was to be the next in God's order. Had they 
preached during the existence of this kingdom, they 
could not have preached the kingdom of God at hand, 
because Greece was the next in order. Had they 
preached during the existence of Greece, they could not 
have preached the kingdom of God at hand, because 
Borne was the next in order. But inasmuch as tliey 
preached during the existence of the last universal king- 
dom which shall precede the kingdom of God, they could 
very appropriately proclaim the kingdom of God at hand, 
— that is the next in the order of God's appointment. 

But Christ in the 21st chapter of Luke having com- 
menced with the encompassing of Jerusalem with armies, 
traces down the series of events through the destruction 
of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews among all 
the nations of the earth — and still on he stretches out 
the great line of prophetic events until the times of the 
Gentiles are fulfilled. Taking his stand point at the 
closing up of the times of the Gentiles, he then gives the 
signs of his second advent, and says to the generation 
that shall live contemporaneous with these signs and the 
coming of Christ: "So likewise ye, when ye see these 
things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God 
is nigh at hand." — Luke xxi : 31. Compare with verses 
20-28. At the commencement of this dispensation the 
kingdom of God was simply at hand, but wdien the last 
signs evidence its close Christ authorizes us to say that 
the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 1 have urged this 
objection to my opponents position in almost every 
speech, and without attempting to reply he continues to 
affirm that the kingdom of God is never spoken of as 



184 

being at hand after the day of Pentecost. Mr. Russell 
agrees with me that Luke traces the history of the Jews 
down to the close of the present dispensation and the last 
signs of Christ's personal coming. He and I agreed upon 
this point this morning. He was afraid I would take t he- 
position that the "days of vengeance" which Christ fore- 
told, at the terminus of which these signs should appeal 
which would evidence to the generation that should see 
them, that the kingdom was near at hand — was fulfilled at 
the destruction of Jerusalem, and thus prove that the 
kingdom was only at hand at the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem. How with this admission he can affirm that the 
kingdom is never said to be at hand after the day of Pen- 
tecost I cannot understand. Mr. Russell refers again to 
Micah 4th and also Isaiah 2d, and applies them to the day 
of Pentecost. With his own position that the last verses 
of the third chapter of Micah which preceed the verse he 
quotes, received their fulfillment at the destruction of 
Jerusalem — how he can carry back the future tense of the 
verb to a time anterior to the destruction of Jerusalem 
I cannot conceive. Having just described the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem the prophet adds: "But it shall come 
to pass in the last days." Does the verb shall, de- 
note the past or future tense of the verb? Answer — the 
future always. How then can he carry back the tense of 
a verb which denoted future time at the destruction of 
Jerusalem, and make it designate an event which tran- 
spired forty years previously? It is not in the power 
of language to help my opponent out of this dilemma. 
The last of the future days at the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, are the last days of the dispensation which suc- 
ceeded the destruction of Jerusalem. And when the 
signs of the last days are seen we may know that the 
kingdom of God is nigh at hand. This is a nail in a sure 
place, driven by the master of assemblies. 

Rome became a universal empire at the battle of Ac- 
tium, thirty years before the Christian Era, and continued 
so for over three centuries and a half. It was in the zen- 
ith of its glory at the advent and during the preaching of 



185 

Christ and his apostles. Rome continued a consolidated 
and undivided empire, as represented by the unmixed 
iron, until the middle of the fourth century. The event 
did not occur which eventuated in the division of Rome 
until Constantino transferred the seat of empire from 
Rome to Constantinople in A.D. 330. After his death the 
Roman empire was divided into what is denominated 
Eastern and "Western Rome by Theodosius the Great, who 
finally divided the empire between his two sons in the 
year 305. It was subsequently divided into ten king- 
doms as was demonstrated by history. 

My opponent has not noticed these historical argu- 
ments against his position, that the stone smote the im- 
age on the day of Pentecost, notwithstanding he prom- 
ised to do so. He knows they are utterly irreconcila- 
ble with his position. Daniel says, " whereas thou sawest 
the iron mixed with clay, the kingdom shall be divided." 
The mixing of the clay with the iron denotes the division 
of Rome. The stone smites the image after the comming- 
ling of the iron and clay; (for it strikes the image upon 
the feet, which are of iron and clay) therefore it does 
not smite the image until after its division in the last of 
the fourth century, for, as has been demonstrated, Rome 
was not divided.until A. D. 395. These invulnerable ob- 
jections will go to the reader of this discussion without 
an attempt on the part of the affirmative to answer them. 
Daniel does not say how many toes there are, but he 
does say in the days of these kings. Daniel uses the 
singular noun kingdom before the clay is mixed with 
iron ; but after this mixture of clay with iron — which he 
says denotes the fourth kingdom in its divided state — he 
uses the plural noun kings. As has been shown, king and 
kingdom are used synonymously; if, therefore, the God 
of heaven had set up his kingdom on the day of Pente- 
cost, it would have been in the days of this king, for no 
two of these four kings (kingdoms) existed contempora- 
neously. It was king, or kingdom, before the division, 
but kings, or kingdoms, after. And according to Daniel 
the God of heaven will set up a kingdom in the days of 



186 

the last mentioned kings, which, according to Daniel and 
history, will be the kingdoms represented by the iron and 
the clay — Rome divided. The demonstrative adjective 
these designates the last kingdoms in the series ; these were 
the last kingdoms of the Roman empire, in their brittle — 
their iron and clay condition — partly strong and partly 
weak— just as the kingdoms in the Roman territory are to- 
day. The first evidence of the collision between the stone 
and image is the utter destruction of the image, when all 
the kingdoms represented by it shall pass as chaff before 
the winds of the summer's threshing floor. Was this 
fulfilled on the day of Pentecost? Has it since been 
fulfilled? It has not. Has the church broken to pieces 
and ground to powder the fourth kingdom of earth? 
Just the reverse has been true. The fourth kingdom 
broke Christ, the head of the church, in pieces, and de- 
stroyed all the visible church he had on earth, and scat- 
tered the remnant all over the world. In its Pagan and 
Papal forms it held dominion over, and persecuted, and 
destroyed by hundreds of millions, the church and the 
people of God. Constantine converted the church to the 
world, and thus prepared the way for the great apostacy, 
which arose upon the demoralization and almost extinc- 
tion of Christianity from the earth. My opponent agrees 
with, me that the coming of Christ in the clouds of 
heaven to reward every man according to his works, will 
be the second advent at the close of the present dispensa- 
tion. At that time, Anti-Christ, with all his leagued 
hosts, will be destroyed. Then the world of ungodly will 
be destroyed. But they will be the living nations of earth. 
1 have proved from the 14-th chapter of Zachariah, Joel 3d 
and Revelations 16th, that all nations will be gathered 
in Palestine when Christ shall come in power and great 
glory. I have also shown that all nations which will be 
overthrown in the last great battle, will be the kings, po- 
tentates, armies and navies of the world, as represented 
by the beast, the dragon and the false prophet — that a 
remnant of all nations will be left at home, and be or- 



187 

I have also shown that the 110th Psalm will meet its 
fulfillment in the coming age, when Christ shall be a 
king upon his throne, and rule in the midst of his enemies ; 
when the rod of God's strength — Christ — shall wound the 
heads — kings of earth — and till the valleys with their dead 
bodies. He will then — according to Zech., 6th chapter, 
and Jer., 33d chapter — be a priest upon his throne, to ex- 
ecute judgment and justice in the earth ; and from that 
time forward, David shall never want a man upon his 
throne. 

The Father, as has been shown, makes Christ's foes his 
footstool, by investing him with authority to rule over 
them, when, according to the 2d Psalm, he will break 
the incorrigible in pieces as a potter's vessel, and extend 
mercy to all who put their trust in him. 

My opponent, in his last speech, acknowledged that the 
everlasting kingdom will not be set up until Christ's 
second advent. Thus he has yielded the whole point at 
issue. During the entire discussion, he has argued that 
the kingdom spoken of in Daniel, 2d and 7th chapters, 
will never pass away — never be moved — will stand for- 
ever ; that the terms used to measure their duration are 
the strongest in the Bible to denote an absolute eternity. 
And all these positions have, from the commencement, 
been conceded by our side. And now, in his next to the 
last speech, he yields the whole point. I do not know 
whether to be glad or sorry at this accession to our ranks. 
As before stated, I have not much confidence in death- 
bed conversions. 



AFF.— P. T. KUSSELL.— TWELFTH SPEECH. 

I wish to notice oiie other matter contained in the ar- 
gument of my friend. He thinks that the words "at 
hand" mean next in order — the nearest of a series of 
events. Admitting this to be true, there is no avoiding 
the conclusion that my affirmative proposition is correct. 



188 

Let us connect this with some other matter, and see what 
the result will be. The language before us reads, "In 
the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a 
kingdom." The reference is to t lie kings mentioned in 
Daniel, 2d chapter. These four kingdoms are all that are 
included within the language, "In t he days of these 
kings ;" and the last of the four kingdoms mentioned was 
the Roman empire. The Roman empire, as we have 
seen, was subverted soon after the beginning of the 
Christian era; consequently, it must have been before 
that time that the God of Heaven should set up his king- 
dom. In harmony with this is the language of the 4th 
chapter of Micah : "It shall come to pass in the last 
days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be es- 
tablished in the top of the mountain, and it shall be ex- 
alted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it" — re- 
ferring, evidently, to the time when should come to pass 
the events spoken of in the 3d chapter immediately pre- 
ceding this language. In harmony with this is the lan- 
guage of Isaiah, 2d chapter: 

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the 
mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the 
top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 
hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it." 

In both these instances the words used are last days, 
plural, and not last day singular. The voice of Inspira- 
tion, speaking through Peter on the day of pentecost, 
said, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, 
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, 1 
will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons 
and your daughters they shall prophesy. Your young 
men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream 
dreams." Peter, speaking under divine inspiration, quotes 
from the prophet Joel, to show that what they were then 
witnessing was the fulfillment of his prophecy as to what 
should take place in the last days. 

This, then, is the point of time that is marked by the 
words "last days." If it be not so, then the Holy Spirit 
made a mistake ; and not only the Holy Spirit, but Christ 



1S9 

also ; for he said, a short time before his death, that 
he would send the Holy Spirit, as Joel had prophesied he 
would pour it out in "the last days," and thus sanctioned 
the idea that the period called by the prophets "last 
days," was the period in which the wonderful manifesta- 
tion witnessed on the day of pentecost occurred. My 
friend had better be cautious how he deals with the plain 
teachings of divine inspiration. 

Tli ere can be no doubt that the kingdom spoken of in 
Daniel 2d chapter and 44th verse was set upon in the 
days of the Imperial Cresars, if we have succeeded in 
establishing the tact that it was to be set up in their days 
according to the prediction of the prophets. I have 
shown you, that in that time namely on the day of pen- 
tecost, the king was already crowned — that angels, author- 
ities and powers were made subject unto him. I have 
shown you that at the day of pentecost the law went 
forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem 
— that subjects by the thousand submitted to that law — 
and here we find everything essential to a kingdom actu- 
ally existing at that time. The kingdom therefore was 
" set up" or "established " on the day of pentecost. 

The little stone that was cut out of the mountain with- 
out hands, became a great mountain. It grew- and ex- 
panded until it filled the whole earth. The stone is the 
emblem of Christ's kingdom. Either it must increase 
now or it never can increase at all. Its growth and expan- 
sion must take place beyond all question while the human 
race are still in a state of probation — and we have found 
that in the light of the Bible there can be no such idea 
enlertained as that there will be a state of probation after 
Christ shall come, for we are there taught that he shall 
judge the quick and the dead at his coming, and not a 
thousand years subsequently to that coming. It being 
therefore clearly established that the kingdom of Christ 
shall grow, and it being further established that it can 
only grow in a state of probation, it follows, as a natural 
consequence, that his kingdom is now set up, and that it 
is not to be set up when Christ shall come again. If set 



190 

up then it could never increase. If established in a state 
of probation it is fitly emblematized by the little stone 
cut out of the mountain side without hands, which grew 
and increased until it became a mighty mountain and 
filled the whole earth. 

My opponent objected, that Christ is not on his throne 
at the present time. I think I made it quite clear, with 
the aid of my opponent that Christ is now upon his throne. 
He admitted that Christ is now upon his throne, if he is 
now a priest after the order of Melchisedek, and we 
proved by the Apostle Paul that Christ is now a priest 
after the order of Melchisedek — consequently we have 
proven that Christ is at this very time upon his throne. 
We challenged Mr. Stephenson to show that there is a 
solitary sentence in the word of God where Christ is re- 
presented as being any other kind of a priest than a priest 
after the order of Melchisedek, and he has utterly failed 
to do so. We have shown from the word of God itself 
that Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was not only a 
priest, but also an high priest — that he was not only an 
high priest, but an high priest forever after the order of 
Melchisedek, consequently being an high priest now after 
the order of Melchisedek he is now upon his throne. The 
language, to which we cited you in Hebrews 5th, Oth, 7th 
and 8th chapters is entirely conclusive upon this point. 
The whole matter was admitted by my friend in admitting 
that if Jesns Christ is now a priest after the order of Mel- 
chisedek he is now upon his throne. That is the order of 
his priesthood forever. He never will be any other kind 
of a priest than that. 

Having shown that Christ is not a king >/< jure merely 
but a king de faeto, angels, powers and authorities being 
subject to him, and all power in heaven and earth being 
placed in his hands, and that by him and to him are all 
things created that are in heaven and earth visible and 
invisible, let us look around us once more. 

We find that the very highest possible titles applied to 
the Savior and all powers in heaven and earth declared to 
be subservient to him. They give to him the powder of a 



191 

supreme ruler. It is declared by the Eternal himself that 
every knee shall bow and every tongue confess his author- 
ity. It is said of him that he is to sit on the throne of 
David. To this I reply that David never had a throne in 
his own right. You may read in Chronicles that Solo- 
mon sat on the throne of the Lord in the place of his 
lather David. It was only David's throne by right of oc- 
cupancy. Christ the son of David is now sitting upon 
David's throne ; that is to say upon the throne of which 
David's throne was a type. He is seated at the right 
hand of the majesty on high — at the right hand of the 
Father where he has been ever since he ascended upon 
high, and where he will he until death is despoiled of all 
his power by the resurrection from the dead of every 
human being that has ever been in death's embrace. 

Let us look once more at the idea of the growth of this 
kingdom. Go to Isaiah 9th chapter where it is said, "To 
us a child is born, unto us a son is given — and the govern- 
ment shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be 
called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the ever- 
lasting Father, the Prince of Peace ; And of the increase 
of his government, and peace there shall be no end." 

This increase of the kingdom of Christ is shadowed 
forth by a grain of mustard seed planted in the earth, 
and again by the leaven which a woman took and hid in 
three measures of meal. The mustard seed grew until it- 
became a great tree, and the birds of the air came and 
lodged in its branches. The leaven leavened the whole 
lump with which it was mingled. Such was to be the 
growth and increase of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, as 
shadowed forth in the parable, and by the voice of pro- 
phetic inspiration before the day of Pentecost. On that- 
day, in accordance with the prophecies of Micah and 
Isaiah, the word of the Lord went forth of Zion, and the 
law from Jerusalem — the assembled multitudes heard the 
gospel of the kingdom — many of them believed, and in 
the same day there were added to the church three thou- 
sand souls. They were delivered from the power of dark- 
ness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. 



102 

I willingly let my friend, Mr. Stephenson, have the word 
"changed," in the passage, instead of the word ''trans- 
lated" into the kingdom. They were " changed," it you 
please. We have already given you what we thought 
was a very full and satisfactory explanation of the mean- 
ing and force of the Greek preposition eis. I showed 
you the authority of one of the best Greek scholars in 
the world, that its legitimate signification is "into." 
That is the primary, direct and literal meaning of the 
word, and according to the universally acknowledged 
rule of translation, we must take that meaning to he the 
sense in which the word is intended to be understood, un- 
less there are circumstances which positively forbid. 
There are no such circumstances in the way here. The 
sense will be complete and the sentence perfectly sym- 
metrical, if we render the word eis by its primary and 
direct equivalent, the English preposition "into/ 1 ten- 
dering it thus, these persons were translated out of the 
power of darkness, and they were translated into the 
kingdom of God's dear son. These three thousand souls 
added to the one thousand and twenty who composed the 
church of our Lord Jesus Christ up to that time, made the 
whole number of subjects of the kingdom, when the sun 
went down on that eventful day, three thousand one 
hundred and twenty souls. Thus already the kingdom 
had begun to increase. A little further on a miracle of 
healing is wrought. A man lame from his birth is found 
in the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God. Peter 
and John seizing upon the opportunity presented to them, 
preached the gospel of the Son of God, and a great mul- 
titude of them that heard, believed, '"-And the number of 
men," as we learn from Acts, 4th chapter and 4th verse, 
"was about five thousand." The kingdom is si ill upon the 
increase, and now within a few days after the day of Pen- 
tecost, eight thousand three hundred and twenty souls 
have become its willing subjects. A little further along 
in the sacred narrative we learn that great multitudes 
were obedient to the faith. The subjects of the kingdom 
are no longer counted by thousands, but they are "great 



193 

multitudes." And from Jerusalem the glad tidings of sal- 
vation went into all Judea and Samaria, and all Asia. It 
swept over Europe, and at length has crossed the broad 
Atlantic, and throughout the length and breadth of the 
new world men and women are being brought out of the 
power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of 
God's dear Son. Such is the process by means of which 
the prophecies in relation to the growth and increase of 
Messiah's kingom are being now fulfilled. 

By and by, after the close of the period in which we 
are now living, the period designated for the growth of 
the kingdom of the Messiah upon earth — by and by a dif- 
ferent condition of things will transpire— a condition ot 
things to which our Savior had reference, in the language 
so often quoted in your hearing : 

"But as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of 
the Son of man be. For in the days that were before the 
flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving 
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. 
and knew not until the flood came, and took them all 
all away : so shall also the coming of the son of man be.' 1 

My opponent had a good deal to say about Noah's wife 
and family being saved without any statement by the 
inspired historian that they were righteous ; but I do not 
see fit to pay any attention to that kind of play. The 
comparison made by our Savior was simply with refer- 
ence to the one idea of a probationary state subsequent 
to the time of his second coming. As in the days of 
Noah the wicked were cut off without a single hour of 
probation, so should it be when the son of man should 
come. Noah and his family having entered the Ark, the 
hand of Omnipotence closed the door, and after that, 
those who were without the ark could no more have got 
into it, and those inside could no more get out. Just so 
will it be when the beautiful city, the New Jerusalem, 
shall come down from God out of heaven ; the saints of 
God will go out no more forever, no will the dogs and 
sorcerors, and abominable that are without, be allowed 
to go within the gates ; but each shall remain eternally 
13 



104 

fixed in that condition in which thep are found in the sec- 
ond coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Let us now glance for one moment at some of the evi- 
dence upon this point. Go again if you please, to Mat- 
thew 25th chapter and 31st, 32d and 33d vi 

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory; And before him shall be gathered all 
nations ; and he shall separate them one from another, as 
a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; And he 
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the 
left." 

Take in connection with this the language to be found 
in 2d Thessalonians, 1st chapter, 7th 8th, and 9th verses. 

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the 
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty 
angels, in naming fire take vengeance on them that know 
not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ; Who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- 
tion from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of 
his power." 

When is this to take place ? For an answer take the 
following verse : 

"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in 
them that perish ; because they received not the love of 
the truth, but they might be saved." 

If the judgment of the quick and dead and the reward 
of the righteous as well as the punishment of the wicked 
does not take place at the time of Christ's second advent, 
then it is perfectly clear that there must be yet two dis- 
tinct comings of Christ yet in the future; fox at one 
future appearing that is all to take place. There can not 
be as my friend claims, a thousand years of probation 
after Christ's second advent unless he is to come a third 
time — and at that third appearing judge the quick and 
dead, rewarding every man according to his work-. But 
as we have no intimation whatever in the Bible of any 
third coming of Christ, and as in the very nature of things 
that cannot be expected we are forced to the conclusion 



195 

that at that very time when Christ shall appear, the 
period of probation for every human being will be at an 
end — he that is holy shall be holy still, and he that is fil- 
thy shall be filthy still. 

In perfect keeping with this thought we find the lan- 
guage of the 110th Psalm where the Father addresses the 
Son saying to him: "Sit then on my right hand until 1 
make thy foes thy footstool." The idea of making the 
foes of Christ his footstool, and that of the destruction of 
the wicked from the presence of the Lord and the glory 
of his power are one and the same — the}^ both refer to 
the ultimate punishment of the wicked after the final 
judgment. We have time and again shown that one of 
the enemies that is to be destroyed — one of the foes that 
is to be put under the feet of the redeemer is death. We 
have shown you that death cannot be destroyed — that 
death cannot be be put under the feet of the Eternal Son 
until it has lost all ruling power — that death cannot lose 
all its ruling poAver until the last human being shall be 
brought out from under death's dominion by the resur- 
rection — hence, as the resurrection and judgment the 
reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked 
are to take place when he comes — he cannot be expected 
until the final consummation of all things — until the last 
loud trump shall reverberate through heaven. And, says 
Luke and Matthew, when you shall see the signs of his 
coming, lift up your heads, ye saints of the Most High, for 
your redemption draweth nigh. Then shall Christ's king- 
dom come in its triumphant and everlasting state, when 
there shall be no more increase, no more conversions, 
but all shall remain forever as it is. And here the lan- 
guage of 2d Timothy 4th chapter and 1st verse, weaves 
into my argnment most appropriately where the Apostle 
says that Christ shall "judge the quick and dead at his 
appearing and kingdom." Then, at his appearing and 
kingdom, when he shall have put down all rule and all 
authority and power — when he shall have put all his 
enemies under his feet — then shall he deliver up the king- 
dom to God even the Father that God may be all and in all 



10G 



Xi;<i. .1. M. STEPHENSON— TWELFTH SPEECH. 

LPH I i \ [ON. 

Paul say 3: "When he (God) biingeth again (margin) 
the Grsb-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the 
angelsofGod worship him." 0eb. i:6. When, accord- 
ing to David, in Psalms, xxii : 27, 28: "All the ends of the 

earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord ; and all the 
kindreds of the nations shall worship before him: tor the 
kingdom is the Lord's, and he is governor among the na- 
t i< *ii< — then, and not till then, will every knee how and 
every tongue confess. When one like the Son of Man 
comes with the clouds ot'heavon, and there is given him 
glory and a kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and 
obey, then will all principalities and powers be made 
subject to Christ. Paul tells 11s that all things shall he 
put under ( Ihrist in the world to come. Heb. ii : -Vs. But 
were all things put under Christ on the day of Pente< 
Have they ever been thus Bubject to him in the world's 
history i 

The word throne signifies regal power. God owned 
David's and Solomon's throne upon e arth, but neither 
David nor Solomon ever owned God's throne in heaven. 
Christ makes a marked contrast between his Father's 
throne and his own throne. Rev. iii: 21. He is now upon 
his Father's throne; but when he comes again he will re- 
ceive his own throne. Matt, xxv: 81. 

[f the church is the kingdom, will thai increase to all 
ity \ The Douay Bible renders it — u of his kingdom 

and the i\< i;i:.\si: OF PEACE there shall be noend." "When 

' is added it will be an endless peace. The stone, 
the gram of mustard seed, and the leven, represent the 
kingdom of Israel restored, and Iho mountain the full 
grown tree, and the three measures of meal represent the 
nations of earth that shall be ridded to the kingdom ol' 
[srael and constitute the dominion. 



15)7 

That a remnant of all nations will have probation for 

one thousand years, after the advent of Christ, lias been 
proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. That the wicked, 
who will be destroyed, are the assembled nations in Pal- 
estine, has also been demonstrated by the Word of God. 

Death, as has been shown, ceases its ravages with the 
immortalization or destruction of the last mortal man. 
This will be the case when the last sinner shall experience 
the second death ; then death and hades will be destroyed 
or cease to be. 

According to Dan. 2d and 7th, the everlasting kingdom 
of God is to be upon the earth. When the kingdom of 
God shall have come, and his will shall be done on earth 
as in heaven, then the closing doxology may be sung: 
"Thine (the Father's) is the kingdom, the power and the 
glory forever. Amen." But this everlasting kingdom is 
upon the earth, where the will of God shall be done, as 
angels do it in heaven. 

It has been shown, in reply to the arguments of the 
affirmative : 

1st. That Col. i : 13 only teaches a change in order to 
the kingdom, and not present possession of the kingdom. 

2d. That Kev. i: 9 only teaches that John was a fellow 
sufferer with all Christians on account of the kingdom, 
and not in the kingdom. 

3d. That men are not come to the literal Mount Zion, 
or Judge, or Mediator, or General Assembly — church oi 
the first born — not who are in heaven, but whose names 
are enrolled in heaven; that the kingdoms of earth are 
not yet removed out of the way; and that, therefore, we 
do not receive the kingdom in fact, but by faith; that 
we receive an immovable kingdom when all those things 
spoken of become realities, and not before. 

4th. That Christ and his apostles preached the king- 
dom of God as at hand — the next kingdom in the series 
of five universal kingdoms, as Daniel foretold; and thai 
Christ tells us, in Luke, the 21st chapter, when the signs 
of the times evidence the near approach of Christ the 
second time, that we may know that the kingdom of God 



lit- 
is nigh at hand. My opponent has not met this objec- 
tion to his position, and can not meet it. 

5th. That Paradise, instead of being in a rive r in 
heaven, will be within the holy city— New Jerusalem lo- 
cated upon the earth to which the mortal nations will 
bring* their glory and honor; and that it belongs to 
the world to come — the future age — the third heaven and 
earth, and not the present. 

My opponent has not noticed the evidence adduced to 
prove that the New Jerusalem — the ihroneofGod and 
the Lamb — Paradise, the tree and River of Life — will be 
upon the earth where the nations are, and these nations 
will be in a mortal and probationary state. 

The following insuperable objections to my opponent"? 
position will go to the reader unanswered: 

1st. That, at the close of the present dis] ensation, the 
kingdom of God, so far from having been established 
eighteen hundred years ago, will only be near at hand. 

2d. The kingdom, instead pf being the church, is o\ 
to the church as the future reward of obedience, all 
through the teachings of Christ and his apostles before 
and after the day of Pentecost. 

3d. That the rich can not enter into the kingdom : that 
little children shall be in the kingdom; that the kingdom 
is not of this world — age; that it is through much tribu- 
lation that we enter the kingdom; that flesh and blood 
can not inherit the kingdom; that the kingdom is to be 
established at the second coming of Chrisl and the judg- 
ment of the living and the dead— when God shall reward 
his servants, the prophets, and those thai fear his name, 
small and great; that the saints are invited to inherit the 
kingdom— prepared for them when the world was foun led 
— when he shall come to earth, and all nations 1 e gath- 
ered before him; and that the kingdom spoken of in 
Daniel, ii: vii, ?/v',7 /,, ■'*iin</ ,'/... 

■;■ d upon the < artk- iu r, r to be \ ■ : at to 

stand forever. Hence, when once established upon earth, 
it must remain there through the endless . rnity. 

My opponent has acknowledged the issue upon this point 



199 

To recapitulate the affirmative argument: 
1st. I have demonstrated that the original dominion 
of the whole earth was offered to Adam as the kingdom 
of-God; that, in ease of obedience, Adam would have 
been God's regal representative upon earth ; that in Para- 
dise would have culminated the power and glory of God's 
universal kingdom upon earth; that from thence his laws 
would have radiated for the government of the world; 
that God offered Adam his everlasting kingdom upon 
earth upon condition of obedience; that Adam failed to 
comply witli these conditions and lost the glorious privi- 
lege of ruling the world in righteousness; that the same 
lofty position was offered the second Adam, and upon the 
same conditions; that the second Adam proved loyal in 
every respect ; and that, therefore, the kingdom and domin- 
ion offered our great Primogenitor will be given to him. 
This glorious position is implied in the bright promise of 
hope for man which followed Adam and Eve as they 
turned their back upon the fiery guarded gates to go 
<jut into the earth where the curse blazed before them 
— that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's 
head. Christ is the promised seed of the woman. That 
the serpent is the symbolic representative of the kingdom 
of men, is evident from Rev. xx : l-o. The original word 
rendered bruise^ signifies to crush or kill. He who shall 
kill the world's last great representative, will, of course, 
have a conqueror's right to his dominion. Christ will 
chain this power for one thousand years, and then utterly 
and forever destroy him. Having thus hurled the serpen- 
tine representative from the throne of universal empire, 
he will take the kingdom and dominion of the whole earth. 
That the original dominion of earth will be given to Christ, 
is evident from his sublime description of his second ad- 
vent, radiant with the glory of the Father, with all his holy 
angels as his glittering cohorts. " Then shall he sit upon 
the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered 
all nations. Then shall the King say to them on his right 
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 



200 

What kingdom was prepared for man when the world 
was founded? A kingdom beyond the bounds of lime 
and space? The Church? No! Go back with me to 
the time when earth's foundations were laid— when the 
morning stars in sweet concert sang, and all the B 
God shouted for joy, and learn what kingdom was then 
and tliere prepared for man. 

The Elohim said, "Let us make man, * * * and lei 
them have dominion over all the earth." — Gen., L:86. 
Hence the original purpose of God concerning man and 
earth — that Adam and all the obedient shall inherit his 
everlasting kingdom upon earth — will be carried out 
through the second Adam instead of the first. 

Again, the deluge rolled its majestic waves over earth's 
loftiest mountains, and wrapped in the watery sheet of 
death the old world, with all its guilty millions : while 
Noah and his family, the germ of a mighty empire, was 
borne in the ark of salvation into the new world. Time 
rolled on, until Nimrod, the mighty hunter, anticipated 
the future purpose of God in laying the nucleus of a 
mighty empire, which should prefigure the universal 
kingdom of God upon the face of the whole earth; Time 
rolled, on until the angelic messenger was sent to select 
the only man upon earth intellectually and morally 
adapted to the purpose of God. His name was A I rani. 
God brought him into the land of Canaan, and changed 
his name from Abram to Abraham, so that it should fitly 
represent his future position as the father cf a multitude 
of nations. He then, as has been abundantly proved, 
made an everlasting covenant with him and his son and 
grand-son, Isaac and Jacob, that he would give to them 
and their seed an everlasting inheritance in the land of 
Canaan, from the river of Egypt to the great river Eu- 
phrates. He also promised, that through Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob, and their unit seed, all the nations of the 
earth should be blessed. 

It was also shown, from the testimony of Stephen, that 
God having brought Abraham into that very land, had not 
given him any inheritance in it. notwithstanding he had 



201 

promised to give it to him and his son. — Acts, 7:4, 5 ; and 
by Paul, that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died as heirs 
without receiving the things promised — Heb., 11:9-13; 
and that therefore, before these promises, backed up by 
the oath of God, can be fulfilled, they must be raised from 
the dead, qualified in nature and life to hold an incor- 
ruptible and everlasting inheritance. It was also proven 
by the apostle Paul, that the seed allied with Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob, in these glorious promises, are Christ, 
and all that arc Christ's.— Gal., 3:16,29; and that this 
everlasting covenant not only pledges the great God to 
give Abraham and his seed (Christ, and all who are 
Christ's,) an everlasting inheritance in the land, but the 
imperial position of the world's dominion. Paul, in his 
commentary upon these promises, says, "For the promise 
that he (Abraham) should be heir of the world, was not to 
Abraham or his seed, through the law, but through Un- 
righteousness of faith." — Rom., 4:13. Thus, when heir- 
ship shall be merged into possession, Christ and all his 
people will be the joint rulers of the world, with all na-_ 
tions as their subjects, and the earth upon which these 
nations dwell as the locality of their kingdom. 

Again, after the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian 
bondage, and their wonderful passage through the desert 
into the promised land ; after the four hundred years. 
during which God governed them through the seventy 
judges; after the unrighteous reign of Saul, God selects 
David from the sheep-cote to be his royal representative 
upon his throne and kingdom. David's throne and king- 
dom were the throne and kingdom of God. David was 
God's legal representative upon earth. Just before 
David's death, the prophet Nathan was sent to make an 
everlasting covenant with him concerning the everlast- 
ing perpetuity of his throne and kingdom. (See 2d Sam., 
7:12-17 ; 1st Chron., 17: 11-17. ) David said in the last words 
he ever uttered, that God had made an everlasting cove- 
nant with him, ordered in all things and sure, and that 
this was all his solvation and his desire. (See 2d Sam., 
23:1-5.) 



202 

In the 110th Psalm, the Great Eternal testifies in refer- 
ence to the nature, subject and duration of this * ovenant 

He says that he has sworn unto David, hi? servant, and 
will not turn from it — that his covenant snail stand fast 
forever. Then in reference to this everlasting covenant, 
he says, '"Thy seed will I establish forever." And in re- 
ference to the position of tins royal seed, he says, k - Aisi> 
I will make him my first-born higher than the kings of 
earth ;" that is, I will make him the imperial ruler of the 
world. 

This will be verified when the Son of God shall b< 
riding upon his victorious horse, having upon his head 
many crowns — the insignia of his title to universal empire 
— while from his crimsoned vesture shall gleam forth the 
lofty title : "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." He will 
then be higher than earth's kings and potentates. Still 
the testimony of the Almighty goes on : "His seed also 
(Christ) will I make to endure forever, and his throne as 
the days of heaven. My covenant will I not break, doi 
alter the thing that has gone out of my tips. < >nce have 
I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 
His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as thi 
before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, 
and as a faithful witness in heaven." — Psalms lx\: 
4, 27-29, 34-37. 

As soon therefore may we expect the sun and moon bo 
fade from the heavens, and the endless years of eternity 
to cease their onward march, as that the oath and i 
nant of God sliall fail, which pledges the great and immu- 
table Jehovah to place the royal Son of David upon his 
(David's) throne, and to retain him there while the sun 
and moon shall shine, and the ages of eternity roll on. 
My next witness is the Evangelical prophet Isaiah. — Esa. 
ix: 6,7. When wrapped in mystic vision the hoi; 
phetsaw looming up in the dim distant future the throne: 
and kingdom of Christ, he exclaimed that he should sit 
" upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to 
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with jus- 
tice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord 



203 

st will perform this." The testimony of the angel 
Gabriel was of (he same import.. He affirmed, that the 

Lord God would give unto his Son the throne of his lather 
David, and he should reign over the house of Jacob for 
ever ; and of his kingdom there should be ho end. — Luke 
i: 31-33. 

The next witness adduced was Christ, who assured his 
apostles that in the regeneration, when he should be 
seated niton his throne, they also should be seated upon 
twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. — Matt. 
xix: 28. And that this is the kingdom the Father has 
appointed unto Christ — Luke xxii : 25-30. That greal re- 
vival sermon of Peter on the day of Pentecost, which 
swayed the minds of thousands 1 efore it, culminated upon 
the immutable covenant and the oath of God, which 
pledged him to raise Christ from the dead that he might 
fulfill his oath in placing him on David's throne. — Acts 
ii : 30. 

It was shown that the throne and kingdom of Israeli 
over which Zedakiah reigned, and which 1 all have 
passed through a long series of subversions, having been 
restored, will be given to Christ at his second ad\ 
Eaek., 21:25-27. It was also shown that he is the only 
rightful heir to David's throne and kingdom in the uni- 
verse ; that the two great lines of genealogy center and 
terminate in him. (See Matt., 1st chapter, and Luke, 3d.) 
It was shown that the six elements of all the kingdoms 
which have ever existed, will inhere in the kingdom of 
God. viz. : 1st, a king to rule ; 2d, a royal cabinet ai 
ated with him in the rule ; 3d, subjects over which they 
rule ; 4th, territory upon which they rule ; 5th, laws by 
which they govern ; 6th, a capital from which laws are 
fulminated for the government of the kingdom. It has 
been proved, then, that Christ will be king ; that all the 
saints of the Most High will be his kingly cabinet ; that 
the twelve tribes of Israel restored, in conjunction with 
all the nations of the earth then living, will be the sub- 
jects; that the land of Canaan, in conjunction with the 
area of the whole earth, will be the territory ; that Jeru- 



204 

salem upon Mount Zion will be (In' metropolis of the 
kingdom; and that the will of God, manifested through 
the commandments of God, will be the supreme law of 
the kingdom. 

It was shown that the ancient kingdom ol Israel was a 
type of the future kingdom of God; and that th< 
elements inhered in it. It was farther shown that the 
four great empires of the world prefigured in outline the 
fifth universal kingdom of God. 

In the second and seventh chapters of Daniel, five 
successive and universal empires have or will occupy the 
whole earth. These live empires will have had the Bis 
essential elements before named. They all have occupied 
the same territory, and have, or will exist in just two 
conditions, viz: first, as local; secondly as universal 
kingdoms. 

Christ's kingdom will, as has been shown, exist first as 
a stone kingdom, which represents the kingdom of Israel 
restored; second, as a mountain kingdom, which repre- 
sents the empire of the world, or the tilth universal king- 
dom. In reference to the time the kingdom shall he es- 
tablished, it has been shown — 

1st. That it will be when one like unto the Son of man 
shall come in the clouds of heaven. Dan. 7: 13, 14. 

2d. That it will be when Christ shall come in the 
glory of the Father and all the angels with him, and he 
shall set upon the throne of his glory, and all nations 
shall stand before him; when as the nobleman he 
return from the tar country, and dispense the emolu- 
ments of honor among his faithful servants; when he 
shall judge the living and the dead at his appearing and 
kingdom. 2 Tim. 4:1. When the seventh trump shall 
sound, and the kingdoms of this world shall becoB 
kingdom of Christ, and the time when the dead shall be 
judged and God shall reward his saints. Rev. 11 : 16, 18. 
When Christ*, instead of being Prince of the kings of the 
earth, (Rev. 1 : 5) shall be inaugural 
when the saints shall cease to be heirs and b< 
sessors of the kingdom: (James 2: 5) when the twelve 



205 

apostles shall sit. upon twelve thrones, and reign with 
Christ ; (Matt. 19: 2$) all of which shall take place when 
Christ shall return to earth, and the time comes for the 
saints to possess the kingdom ; for the little born shall 
prevail until that time. Dan. 7: 21, 22.) Christ's king- 
dom will.be inaugurated when the prayer our Savior 
taught his disciples to pray shall be answered: "Thy 
kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven." 
Amen. 






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Deacidilied using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

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